


Desert Heat

by iroiroriro



Series: This Colossal World We Live In [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Alternate Universe - Monster Hunters, Big monster fights, Biology Inaccuracies, Dragon Kibana | Raihan, Ecology, Fanart, M/M, Mermaid Dande | Leon, Natural Disasters, Pseudoscience, Rating May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-11
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:29:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 30,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23103256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iroiroriro/pseuds/iroiroriro
Summary: Sonia has been studying countless kinds of creatures ever since she was a child- watching different species interact, guiding some out of extinction, and even searching through biomes high and low to aid with migration when old routes are invaded by humans or other species.This time though... it's different.After relocating due to a natural disaster, Sonia and her hunters bait their breaths when two creatures from entirely different habitats- top predators who never would've met- attempt to reproduce....Should they stop this or let them?Can they even do it??What would the children look li-wait, no-Is such a feat evenpossible???＿＿＿＿＿＿＿Basically, ocean mermaid Leon and desert dragon Raihan meets.
Relationships: Dande | Leon/Kibana | Raihan
Series: This Colossal World We Live In [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1660660
Comments: 175
Kudos: 591





	1. The water that gives us everything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! First of all, i wrote this while listening to the [Monster Hunter: Iceborne OST](https://youtu.be/NyTAfD5vreE) so if ya'll really wanna get in there and immerse yourself in this, I recommend listening while you read!!

A dark cloud looms overhead as a thunderstorm cackles in the far distance, wreaking havoc near the heart of the sea.

Sonia looks over the horizon with a telescope in the cliffside watchtower of their settlement, watching as a pod of twenty eight plays around in the raging waters where most creatures would normally stay clear away from, jumping out of the sea's surface to somersault in the air and leaping through the dangerous crashing waves with big, dopey smiles as if the hurricane is no more than a playground.

In a way, it is.

_Squatina Homo Radiata_. Also known as Angel Lionmaids. This species of mermaid, much larger in size in comparison to the 'common' mermaid by at least five meters in average, are feared by all others due to their exceptional strength and hunting prowess. When hunting alone, they have an exceptional catch rate of 93%, beaten only by the dragonfly.

What makes this certain pod special though, more special than most pods of other mermaid species, is because its one of the _only_ _two_ recorded pods of Angel Lionmaids that exists in the vast ocean.

Angel Lionmaids used to be lone hunters. Throughout their long, long lives, they only ever met with members of the same species once every twelve years, sometimes even going as far as once in a century, and that is only to breed.

Due to environmental changes, however, the scales of the ocean tipped and other marine species invaded the once feared seas through sheer number. The sudden rise of creatures made an imbalance, the top predators of the foodchain left confused when their territories shrink and they have to meet quick and breed to accommodate the change- which resulted in a bunch of slow-moving, pregnant Lionmaids swimming in the seas.

This, in turn, proved to be a fatal mistake when they caught the eye of the most dangerous species of all.

Once feared due to their strength, they have become prey when humans started hunting them for sport as a test of skill, unknowing that the supposedly _'_ _undefeatable'_ creatures they're fighting aren't even in the right shape to fight back. The hunt for them rose in popularity as their numbers dwindled, their natural muscular beauty making them sometimes get sold as giant, exotic pets when caught alive successfully- which is how humans actually found out about their predicament in the first place.

One gave birth to an egg a few months in captivity in the house of a rich duke, the great grandfather of Professor Magnolia, Sonia's grandmother.

The duke started a study of the species, wanting to have the right conditions for the egg to mature and for the baby to be healthy, feeling guilty that such an amazing creature got caught when pregnant and wondering if there is a way to get her back to the ocean where she once lived.

The study revealed the vast difference these creatures have compared to species of other mermaids, the first one to be discovered being that they are all capable of impregnating others of their own kind and getting pregnant themselves despite what they might physically look like. It must be evolution finding its way so that such rare giants can breed when needed as long as they have another of their species.

The news caused a stir as Lionmaids from all over the world start to die off in captivity due to poor conditions, all of them discovered to be harboring an egg. Unfortunately, due to lack of proper knowledge of the species at the time, none of these eggs survived after the parent's death.

They were driven so far into almost becoming extinct in the wild, with only an estimated dozen or so still believed to be living in the ocean as humans run about struggling to give what's left of the ones they caught the right conditions to give birth and live properly, most unable to go back to the ocean as their protective spines have been cut due to toxins, fins trimmed down so that they can fit in a display tank.

Another difference from other mermaid species is that their cut fins and spines take decades upon decades to grow- rendering it almost impossible for those without them to go back to the wild while still recovering due to the lack of capabilities to properly hunt food.

Researchers from all over studied them and aided them with the eggs, a few are successful, most are not. The duke received what's left of those who survived due to the success of his studies and the amazing health the Lionmaid under his care is in- mainly due to the amounts of money he poured to ensure the creature's comfort. The community helped and made sure that the other Lionmaids are well taken care of, building an enclosure only separated from the sea by rocks built like a fence- the height enough for any of the Lionmaids to jump over should they wish to hunt.

This enclosure started a change in the creatures' way of living, the once lone hunters joining together to form a small pod: Four adults and four eggs altogether, creating a family of eight. The duke's Lionmaid remained in the tank with her egg due to not having spines and fins like the others have, the man afraid that the natural elements outside might do her harm. The lone Lionmaid is taken care of with the best of the duke's abilities until happy, huge and plump, usually tracing shapes on the tank's glass and playing with the children who come to see her.

Despite the humans' best efforts, two of the eggs still died, the reason being that they were forcefully pushed out a few months too early to be able to survive off of the nutrients that came out with them.

The community of humans grieved but the Lionmaids didn't. They bred whomever they met in the vast ocean due to necessity last time but now that there are choices available, a _heat-_ signalling the need to mate- spread among them, starting a ritual that shook all those who watched them in fear- reminding them of the Lionmaids' true nature.

Predators.

Even to each other.

They struck and they clawed, bone-chilling howls and echoing screams filling the night as the mermaids fought with strength so monstrous that waves of water spilled inland and the earth shook when their bodies slammed against the cliffs.

The Duke's Lionmaid, still in the tank, cried and struggled until she got out, leaving the people shocked as she started crawling on the rocks in amazing speed while using cut fins to propell forward on land, dipping her torso down the water to get the eggs out of harm's way and into the sand.

The humans watched in horror when she suddenly gets grabbed and dragged down, red filling the water below as tails dangerously trashed about.

Despite having cut fins and spines, the Duke's Lionmaid emerges out of the water victorious, pulling out a smaller, fearfully shuddering Lionmaid who hid at the bottom of the enclosure as to not get caught in the fight.

It appears that in the wild, Lionmaids normally fought to see if the other is muscular enough to withstand blows, if they're venomous enough to cancel the other's poison, and if they're resilient enough for fins to not break or get cut in the raging water's force. This way, they'll be able to ensure that only the strongest ones continue to breed, weeding out the weak to keep the species the strongest they can be.

Wounds are patched and taken care of as the last two Angel Lionmaids carefully return the eggs to where they were before, now with the Duke's Lionmaid's egg in the lot as the mermaids helped put up the rocks that were broken down.

In the dead of the night, when the humans are grieving more loss, a pair of melodic keens break the silence.

Hurrying to the enclosure just in-case something bad happens yet again, they are met with the sight of the last two Lionmaids with their hips flush against each other, the bigger one cradling the other in her arms as they stay unmoving. It took a few minutes before their hips part, the researchers watching closely as they pulled out their respective organs out of the other and sank to the bottom of the enclosure to sleep in an embrace.

A month came by when the first egg hatched, the Duke's Lionmaid's. The juvenile, with its slender yet strong tail and beautifully scattered fins, is amazingly able to jump out of the water and play around immediately after it crawled out.

The limitless energy was recorded to be exhausting for everybody involved. The little one sucked milk relentlessly before zooming around all over the place, sometimes even needing the bigger parent to suddenly swim out and return back with the child in tow after hearing its whistles of distress- swimming out to play only to get lost in the sea.

The eggs hatched in the following months one by one and it was obvious from the get go who the unspoken leader of the pod was.

Incredibly larger than the rest of the juveniles, stronger, more agile- it is none other than the first, the one they have nicknamed _Leon_ despite the duke insisting that they shouldn't name any of them for they are not pets.

A few months later came when the last eggs are birthed to, only for the smaller parent to not survive the ordeal, along with its own egg. Leon's parent gave birth to a healthy egg and the humans watched as the pod of six prepares to leave for the seas, leaving the last egg for the humans to take care of and knowing that the little one inside will be safe in their care.

They named that one Hop- due to the infant jumping around with glee when it hatched.

Hop, despite initially not wanting to, left five years later for the pod. Years came and went and humans watched as the pod _very slowly_ grew bigger. They'll come back to breed in the enclosure no more than once a decade, with Leon and the elder watching over their fighting ritual away from land to stop them if the battle gets too much, making sure there is no more unneeded bloodshed in their already low numbers.

The Angel Lionmaid's lonesome nature still hasn't left some of them though and after hatching and weeks of nursing from the parent, some juveniles would leave to set out to a journey of their own, somewhere farther in the seas where there might be wild Lionmaids, untouched by humans, that continued their lives in silence.

Lionmaids of all shapes and sizes came and went, some living full lives while some not, but the one whose presence stayed strong and constant is Leon, watching over the pod like a guardian. Hop left the pod after around a century and a half, the only reported sights of the Lionmaid coming from a group of fishermen seeing him together with a smaller but amazingly brightly-colored wild Lionmaid in the far south. Half a century later, the same community reported that those two started another pod together in the tropical water reefs. Good job, Hop.

The Angel Lionmaid population steadily increased but humans are sure that it will take several more centuries for them to go back to their original numbers.

Something odd has taken their notice as of late though.

Despite being the strongest, largest and brightest-colored one in the pod, Leon never mated with anybody.

Sonia was born with Leon already looking majestic- a bright, breathtaking, giant figure sitting on the rocky shores and watching over the sea like a king would with his kingdom. Over twenty meters of pure power, muscle and regality.

From what Sonia has read and studied of hundreds and thousands of creatures when she was a child, the strongest ones would've been fighting and breeding all over the seas to make stronger offspring.

Throughout the years, as her place became more and more prominent through studies and helping of countless species, she finally understood why Leon chose to not mate despite being the strongest of them all.

Leon is too kind for such a thing.

The pod leader is so strong that no one wanted to challenge them. Leon is not one to take advantage of anyone either, knowing that he'll inevitably win. It's like an unspoken rule that no one wanted to try and cross.

Until someone gets the courage or strength to do so, Sonia is sure that Leon will watch over the pod as they grow stronger on their own, guiding and helping and protecting. The human girl thinks it's amazing of the mermaid to do so but also can't help but think it's quite sad. Who knows, maybe Leon wants to go off to have his own adventure too, like Hop did, but can't do it out of a sense of obligation.

The researcher watches with a sigh as the mermaids continue playing in the harsh waters, catching the sight of Leon laughing as he watches over the rest of the pod, not participating in the merry making.

  
  
  
  
  


  
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🌕 ✨  
✨ ☁ ⭐   
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🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊  
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_Squatina Homo Radiata_ | Angel Lionmaid

Ecology: Arctic Waters, Tropic Waters, Open Sea

Min. Recorded Adult Size ( _\---_ ) ( _Tropic_ )

  * 5.3 meters (w/ spine)
  * 4.9 meters (w/o spine)



Max Recorded Adult Size ( _Leon_ ) ( _Open_ _Sea)_

  * 27.8 meters (w/ spine)
  * 19.6 meters (w/o spine)



_Researcher's Note:_

_Many venomous creatures are either brightly colored or can display bright colors to warn potential predators. I've noticed that as bright as the gradient Leon's tail and fins have, the color of his spines fade out, the white practically translucent and jellyfish-esque unlike the other lionmaids of the pod who have their spines a solid hue all throughout. Leon stretches meters of almost invisible length outwards as he swims, enveloping his tail in aurora-like cascading veils as he gracefully moves in the water._

_As beautiful as they look, the spines can be venomous when he wants them to, making Leon an incredibly lethal hunter. One can only imagine how horrifying it must be to be a prey trapped in-between blankets of transparent spines and realizing there is nowhere to go. I remember foolishly nestling myself under those things when Leon once laid in the shore back when I was a child, watching little rainbows as I tilt the fins against the sunlight only to panic when I couldn't find my way out. Thank gods Leon is amazingly kind. Kabu was furious though._

_-Head Researcher Sonia_

  
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🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊

  
  
  


_"Sonia!! Where the heck is Sonia?!_ _**SONIA!!!**_ _"_

Nessa, an _Istiompax Homo Indica_ , also known as a Torpedo Marlin Mermaid- the fastest mermaids there are at sea and one of the ones who have vocal chords for speech- trashes her tail about once she arrives on the shore, catching the attention of fishermen and hunters alike.

Milo, one of the settlement's flora researchers, helps her out of the water only to gasp when something black trails from where her tail is, coating the sand in black.

_Oil_.

Kabu, the seaside settlement's Hunter Captain, runs to the shore with some of his men in tow, eyes immediately locking on the trail of dark liquid floating above the water.

" _Spill_ \- there's a rising underwater oilspill from an earthquake last night and it's spreading from the south west reefs to the far east. I told Hop and his pod to escape to either the Arctic or somewhere farther east but I had to dash here as fast as I can to tell you before-" she cuts off as she coughs and heaves, black staining the sand when her saliva, mixed with _**oil**_ drips out of her mouth, her nostrils and her gills.

Kabu bites back a curse as he takes his jacket off and wraps Nessa with it, letting Milo and another hunter lift her out of the water and over their shoulders to get some help as the captain shouts out orders to the others.

"Get some of the fishermen and have them head out to save who they can. Ask the researchers up in the watchtower about the situation-"

The captain looks up when high-pitched shrieks fill the air.

_Phoebastria Homo Albatrus-_ Albatross Harpies- fly high in large groups, some of them falling out of the sky and into the water or the shore. A huge harpy screams when a smaller one almost crashes into the beach rocks, saved mere inches away by Milo who grabbed an oiled wing with one hand and redirected the harpy's momentum into the sand.

Cries of help are heard from the sea when a family of _Phoca Homo Vitulina_ , Giant Harbour Sealmaids, pull their blackened bodies into the shallows, fishermen and normal citizens alike diving to the water to help pull them out or even swim further for the Harpies that are struggling with the weight of the oil on their feathers.

Kabu grits his teeth as he runs into the water to help, turning one last time to shout-

**_"Find_ ** _**Sonia now!!** _ _"_

  
  
  


"Get them into the cave structure by the mountain but make sure to put a barricade so they won't interact with the bat's nests."

"Ah, we need to quarantine that one first so he can heal his leg before sending him back to the mudpools."

"How are the eggs? Make sure the surviving ones are properly incubated- yes, yes, _shh_ it's okay, we'll find your calf soon."

Sonia turns left and right as she walks through the desert settlement, a bunch of creatures needing help and relocation after an earthquake last night destroyed vertical rock formations that ranged hundreds of meters in height, home of thousands of nests for wyverns, lizards and countless other creatures.

"The kelbi and other herbivores have been safely gotten out of the fallen tree by the rainforest settlement," one of her panting assistants run up to her, covered in sweat. "They said they don't have any more space for rescues."

Sonia nods as she looks over the expanse of land they can use. "It's okay. We have enough space for the desert creatures here, we just have to place them around carefully-"

" **Sonia!!** "

An ear-piercing shout rings through the desert settlement as a huge Albatross Harpy flies and drops someone in the sand-

One of Kabu's hunters.

"Sonia- Sonia, the seaside settlement-" the hunter pants, struggling to breathe and stand up due to the desert sand sticking to his blackened pants.

The shoulders of Sonia's assistant rise. "We are busy here! Can't you see that-"

Sonia cuts her off with a wave of a hand, frowning at the Harpy. "Why did you bring an Albatross Harpy here? This is the des-" she stops upon getting closer and blinking at the black substance dripping from the hunter, her stomach sinking as she immediately goes to the Harpy, her face pale.

"Take me to the seaside settlement."

Sonia arrives to the sight of Leon hefting a Giant Harbour Seal merman to the beach- not looking very _giant_ beside the Lionmaid- as a bunch of workers hose creatures all over, the white beach sand slowly getting invaded by muddy puddles of black.

"The oilspill hasn't reached us here yet but it _will_ soon- the estimate of the researchers is tonight. We have to move everybody away," Milo sighs, his shirt covered in black. "Nessa knows everything that happened but she's still recovering. The doctors made her puke out the oil she accidentally ingested when she dashed here and I'm afraid she's still out cold."

Sonia nods in a daze as she watches Lionmaids help push harpies and a few oiled merfolk to the shore, a number of other creatures once ready to kill each other for territory now helping one another and arriving together in their settlement in hopes that the humans will help them.

"We're not welcomed to go to the volcanic settlement, Oleana just informed us," one of Sonia's assistants tells her and the head researcher shakes her head, pulling on her ponytail painfully to ground herself.

"We can't go even if we wanted to. The ph level of the water there is vastly different from here. Majority of the merfolk may as well be drinking rat poison," Sonia hisses as she runs a hand on her face. The jungle biome is too different- the rainforest doesn't have enough space- the high mountains inland has clean water and the air is damp enough that she's sure the merfolk can stay out for hours on end but they'll never be able to bring everybody there, they'll take weeks. If only there's somewhere closer they can go to ASAP-

Sonia stops.

She knows a place.

She knows a place but it's too dangerous- too risky to go there- but if they stay here, these creatures are doomed. They'll suffer inhaling oil fumes and end up drowning under the water that gave them life.

A deep hum that resounds among the surroundings with its bass, the call almost whale-like, catches everybody's attention.

It's Leon.

Wise golden eyes bore into Sonia as the head researcher breathes deep. _'Do_ _what you must,'_ is what Sonia knows she's being told- despite the Lionmaid being incapable of human speech.

"It's too dangerous," Sonia answers back, making the other humans turn to look at her in surprise. Leon has always had a way with communicating with his eyes- Sonia knows how to read the mermaid's stares due to growing up in that same beach they're running away from now, looking at Leon from a telescope for countless hours on end.

_'Nothing's too dangerous when I'm here,"_ the confident look in Leon's eyes makes Sonia freeze, the Lionmaid flashing off fins against the sunlight. One well-placed slash from those things can cut an armoured alligator in half and a strong push from that muscular body can level a cliff- the confidence isn't misplaced, Leon _is_ the strongest of everyone here.

Sonia grits her teeth and looks to the side, watching the earlier Albatross Harpy who took her here approach a smaller Albatross whose wet from the hosing, gently pulling her into a hug. A Giant Sealmaid mother combs her biggest son's hair back, the oil making it stick in place as she coos at him, patting him on the cheek. Her smaller children, now clean, all crawl back to her to press against her sides, watching their older brother get hosed down. In a few hours, no hosing can clean them when the oil reaches here. They won't be able to go back to the sea and their skin wil dry out and harden out of the water.

"I know a place in the desert," Sonia lets out.

Sonia's assistant jolts at the statement. "The desert settlement? But they already have their hands full there! We can't-"

The head researcher shakes her head, lifting her hands up to press against her face and run through her hair, messing up her bangs. "No, there's a small inland sea in the desert. People tend to call the place a saltlake but it's really a sea, the water connecting it is just blocked by overhead formations and covered in caves. The underground river is fairly low and mostly below the ground, connecting it to the northwest sea. It's impossible for the oil to reach there," she explains, the researchers lighting up as she goes while the hunters look around nervously, knowing about the area.

" _That_ place? Didn't you yourself mark that as a _'red'_ area in our maps? Too dangerous to traverse?" Kabu dutifully asks. "And now you're telling us that that's the best place for us to go to. What makes it so that only a life-or-death situation will allow us there? What makes you deem it safer for us now?"

Sonia purses her lips and turns to him, a pained expression on her face as she hopefully runs a hand on a scale on Leon's arm, betting everybody's safety on the strength of their king.

"A dragon."

  
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🔶   
🔶🔶🔶  
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🔶🔶 🌵 🔶🔶🔶  
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When Sonia said _'dragon'_ she didn't mean a wyvern. She didn't mean a big lizard. She meant an actual, honest to the gods, _dragon_.

_Carcharias Homo Varanus._ The Winged Sandtiger Dragon.

No one's seen one this clearly for years, only the blurred sight of it as it zooms in the air and its big footprints left after a territorial fight- and yet, here he is in the flesh, looking over the desert as hidden lesser dragons cower in fear, almost as if bowing down to him.

_"How'd you know that it lives here?"_ Kabu whispers as they hide under the shade of a cave, scouting the area and mentally mapping out a good route to the inland sea.

"Remember when I was a kid and I suddenly disappeared when Granny took me to the market?" The head researcher asks and Kabu nods, remembering that time about 20 years ago. "I found it caged in the marketplace when it was still a baby, newly hatched," Sonia sighs. "It's only a wee bit bigger than a human toddler, only that it has wings and a tail and all that."

They all look up as the flapping of wings is heard, the dragon- around as big as a small house- taking off to the sky and leaving a gust of wind in its wake.

Once they supposed that the coast is clear, Kabu motions with his hand and the caravan behind them rises to life under a camouflaged fabric, the merfolk protected under it from the blazing desert sun, cramped in tanks far too small to accommodate their bodies comfortably.

A sealmaid softly coos and her mother shushes her, patting her cheek and adjusting her family's position in one of the cramped tanks, spilling a little water around the sides. Kabu pats the glass, silently asking if they are okay. The mother simply smiles and Kabu returns the gesture before turning his attention back to Sonia.

"Your gran and my hunters all panicked trying to look for you, only for you to come back covered in dirt saying you played in the desert with baby wyverns only to fall into a mudpool."

Sonia huffed at the memory, eyeing a large draconic footprint in the distance.

"That was a lie. I stole the baby dragon and took it here to play with it and set it free- and _then_ I fell into a mudpool on my way back," the researcher sighs as she looks up at the expanse of the clear blue sky. "I only understood around a year later that I was an idiot. I took an infant to one of the most hostile environments of this archipelago thinking I was _'setting it free'._ For all I know, he could've been eaten by hyenas or fed to other baby dragons the moment I left him there."

A loud roar in the distance makes them all stop, the hunters immediately ducking into the shadows of rocks and long-dried trees for cover.

Silence that seemed to stretch for eternity came over the caravan, nervous eyes of humans and other creatures alike darting to look at one another as they wait with their heart almost at their throats.

The fabric shifts a little when Leon attempts to peek out of his huge container, his being the only one that isn't glass so he won't see the outside. The researchers around him pats his head and tries to fruitlessly push him back down.

Despite knowing that Leon is kind and gentle to humans and other Lionmaids, Sonia is sure that he'll get territorial the moment he gets a glimpse of something as big or even _bigger_ than him.

To be honest, Sonia is counting on that trait.

"A few years back, reports of a dragon circulated from hunters around this area. The moment I saw sketches of the slashes and the tracks, I immediately knew it was him," she sighs. "He's gotten so enormous over the years, besting other dragons who tried to get into this area by marking it his territory. It would've been better if he started a family of his own- since his kind is so rare no one's ever seen them up close and _alive_ like this- but he just drives everybody away, regardless of whether they're hoping to mate or not."

The hunter captain hums as he looks back, watching Leon's golden eyes trying to peek over the wood stubbornly. "So the plan is to have Leon mark the water as his territory and have him defeat the dragon?" Kabu asks and Sonia nods.

"Just to drive him away. This area is big enough for the two of them, surely. I just... I don't want him to get hurt too bad," the head researcher sighs. Hopefully, his pride doesn't get in the way and he'll actually fly off when he gets defeated.

"Think he'll recognize you?" Kabu asks as he motions to the caravan and they start moving again, the undoubtful smell of the sea filling the air as blue comes into view.

"It's been 20 years. I doubt he will."

  
☀

🔶🔶🔶   
🔶🔶   
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🔶🔶🔶🔶🔶🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🔶🔶  
🔶🔶🔶🔶🔶🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🔶🔶

" _Ack_ \- hey!" A group of researchers gets drenched when a young sealmaid leaps out of her tank to jump into the cold water, laughing in delight much to the horrified shock of her mother.

The situation becomes uncontrollable when creatures proceed to follow her, pushing their tanks over to get into the refreshing water themselves. "Wait- we still have to assign which ones... go... where..." Milo trails off as he steps aside when the Lionmaids drag themselves across the rocks, poises regal. The other creatures make way for them too as they sigh and let themselves stretch out their limbs, sinking to the bottom as their bright colors disappear into the dark blue depths.

"...Yeah. Water creatures go to the water," Milo just shrugs and sighs as he turns to help everybody set up the camp, stationing different lightweight buildings ready to be made in a flash.

"And the Harpies?" One of Kabu's hunters ask, looking around and finding none of them.

"The Albatross Harpies are temporarily migrating to the highland mountains farther inland. They won't be able to survive long in the desert," Sonia says as she looks around and stops, watching Leon perch on elevated rocks and tilt his chin up, a low continuous sound reverbrating from his throat as his pupils turn into slits.

Sonia follows his line of sight and feels her blood freeze.

There he is.

The dragon glares at them from another shore of the inland sea, clawed hands and feet spreading against the rocks as he spreads out his giant wings, readying himself for a swift take off.

Leon glares back, the atmosphere becoming heavy as a lot of the other creatures immediately dive down, sensing the impending danger. Hunters duck and hide behind rocks for cover, pulling with them researchers who either froze in place or are too eager to watch what's about to unfold. Sonia side eyes her assistant as the younger one, a learner at heart, reflexively pulls out her notebook from its place in her robe. Sonia looks back at the creatures as she gently pulls her assistant behind her, knowing that the notes of this fight would be well taken care of.

The Lionmaid leaps into the water in one swift motion, crossing over sixteen meters worth of distance with that one launch before swimming fast to the center of the sea. The dragon roars and flies up before diving down to the other giant, creating an arc akin to a catapult's trajectory as he crashes into Leon head first, teeth ready to clamp down and tear flesh.

The sea bends and dips from the mercy of the kings' battle, the gust from every flap of gargantuan wings making waves crash against one other, fighting against the force of the water made by the trashing of fins.

Claws grip on Leon's tail as the dragon lifts up a few meters away from the sea, only seeing his mistake when the mermaid bends up its tail to coil around the other's torso, holding him in a deadly embrace.

A pained howl resounds as the dragon falls into the water, wings desperately flapping to get himself back to the air as Leon constricts him tighter, the creaking of bones and hard scales almost unheard from the sound of the crashing waves that threatens to engulf the dragon whole, the creature swallowing water in an attempt to breathe as the oxygen is squeezed out of his lungs.

"Leon, stop!! That's enough!!" Sonia's screams were loud enough for Leon to be momentarily distracted, the lionmaid whipping his head to the direction of the sound to see the head researcher clutching a horn, held back by Kabu as her assistant jots down words as fast as she can. _No, i_ _t isn't-_ Leon growls as he dives down with the Sand dragon in tow, the reptile's clawing useless against the mermaid's scales.

What the Lionmaid didn't expect was the pressure of teeth breaking into his shoulder, piercing flesh that has never been broken before-

Flesh that shouldn't have been broken.

Not even the sharpest harpoons could leave a scratch on his skin. How could a measly row of teeth could-

_"Khhrrrrrh!!!"_ A blood-chilling wail of pain that sounds like a mix of the high-pitched grating of a rusted ship's chains with an underlying bass of a whale's cry makes Sonia's heart drop, the head researcher's eyes widening in shock and fear as she turns to her assistant who has a mirroring look on her face.

"Wh-what was that sound?!" Kabu's hand, slightly shaky, wraps on the hilt of his sword, his own heartbeat ringing in his ears.

The water breaks as the dragon takes a deep breath of air, struggling to fly out as a webbed hand still tries to pull him in, an almost serpentine tail trashing into his body as hard as it can and making chunks of the hard rock coating him for protection crack open.

Leon falls back to the water with a keen when the protective layer falls apart, losing his hold on the dragon as the reptile flies up, coughing out seawater. With gleaming blue eyes, the dragon flies to a nearby shore and lets out a deafening roar, the flapping of his wings making gusts so strong that it calls the sand in the air around him. Humans gasp and shout as winds blow some of their equipment away, researchers falling to their knees to grasp on long-dried plantain so they won't be taken by the harsh gusts.

Sonia gasps as she eyes a slight tint of red in the water, seeing pin-pricks on the Lionmaid's shoulder. Despite this, Leon swims towards where the dragon is, blood trailing behind him as he bolts to the dragon before he could finish conjuring the sandstorm.

The head researcher manages to pull her wrist out of the captain's grip and dashes, taking two fingers in her mouth and making a high-pitched whistle. One of the tamed running birds leap out of its cage in one of the caravan carts and squawks as Sonia holds onto it and jumps on its back in one smooth movement, arms embracing its neck due to the lack of a saddle to properly hold on to.

Before they could fully reach the shore, the running bird fearfully stops in its tracks as a pair of defeaning roars permeat the air. Sonia yelps as she gets thrown forward but makes sure she doesn't lose precious time, turning her fall into a front roll and using the momentum as a push to continue running, ignoring the aching of her joints as she pushes her legs to stomp in-front of the other as much as she can.

Leon breaks the water's surface and lands on the shore at the same time Sonia skids to a halt right between the two of them.

**"Raihan!!"**

The wind stops.

Creatures and humans alike watch with baited breath as the dragon lands on rocks, eyes wide as he looks down at Sonia, her arms high and outstretched as if on surrender. A clawed arm creeps closer but wasn't able to take the full step when Leon crawls towards Sonia, a warning growl in his throat as the head researcher yelps and raises her hands at him.

"Leon! You're going too far!" Sonia shouts and gets into a staredown with the Lionmaid, golden eyes that shine like the desert sun confused and searching.

Another step, now almost soft, resounds from behind Sonia and she turns to see the dragon's eyes locked on her, irises blue as the point where the skies and the seas meet gleaming in recognition.

"Hey, Raihan. Do you... actually still remember me?" Sonia carefully asks as she steps closer, eyes locked with the dragon's. She hears Leon trying to follow her, probably wishing to ensure her safety, and she stretches a hand up toward the Lionmaid to tell him to stop.

The dragon looks up at the Lionmaid for a split second before looking back down at Sonia, lips pursed and expression weary as the human slowly walks up to him.

"It's... been a long time, hasn't it? You've grown so much," the sight of Sonia's smile, gentle as the breeze, makes the dragon's perked claws and scales slowly smooth down, a purr emanating from the reptile's throat as he leans down and tries to poke Sonia with his nose, the head researcher laughing lightly as she pats the dragon's face, fingers stretching over scales as big as her hand.

A growl makes the two of them stop, looking up to see Leon's almost glowing eyes glaring at the dragon. A rumble emanates from Raihan's throat, the reptile straightening up and stretching his wings out to intimidate, showing how big he is compared to the mermaid.

Leon isn't phased, he knows he's vertically longer, proven by how he was able to snake his tail a few times around the dragon earlier. One pull into the water without the protective covering this glorified lizard had earlier will ensure Leon's win, he just needs to do it at the right moment.

"Enough, enough," Sonia sighs as she walks back to the middle, eyeing Leon with exhasperated eyes. The look makes the Lionmaid stop, blinking. _What did he do wrong?_ There's a creature in-front of them that is a danger to everybody else's well-being and needs to be taken care of. Why is he the one getting stopped?

The head researcher turns to Raihan with desperate yet hopeful eyes, making the dragon tilt his head to the side in question. "Raihan, I know this is a part of your territory. I'm here to ask you if it's alright if you can... share with us?" Sonia asks and watches the dragon's head scales tilt up and down to hear her.

Leon squints his eyes as the dragon blinks and tilts his head again to the other side, realization settling in. The lionmaid pokes Sonia's back so she can look at him, the head researcher turning with a frown as he coos.

_'He can't understand you.'_

Sonia sighs, closing her eyes in defeat. She should've known before she started trying to negotiate, the dragon probably hasn't heard human speech for over a decade or so.

A high pitched thrill takes their attention and they all turn to the water, catching a young sealmaid peeking out nearby to curiously look at them in-between rocks. The mother, faraway, jolts and calls out to the child in panic, some hunters rubbing her arms to calm her down as the brother dives out to get her.

Raihan hums, taking in the surroundings and watching humans leave their hiding places to look back at him in caution, some others fixing up what have fallen over from his winds.

The young sealmaid's head fully pops out the water as she looks up at the larger creature in wonder, blinking at the dragon's rock-like scales. The reptile gives the Lionmaid one last look before taking several steps back, glancing at Sonia one last time as he spreads his wings and takes off with a strong gust, leaving the sealmaid and the head researcher winded as Leon looks on, unaffected.

A scolding is heard as the humans set up what they can of their equipment, the little sealmaid looking down with a pout as her brother aggravatingly slaps his tail on the shore, their mother cooing and whistling as she smothers the child in her arms with hugs and kisses.

"So... this _Raihan._ Is he really allowing us to stay here?" Kabu asks as he looks around for any traces of the dragon and not finding any.

"Yes, I believe so," Sonia sighs as she looks on and takes stock of the creatures they brought with them, looking back at the hunter upon realizing that Kabu's still eyeing at her. "Oh. _Raihan_. I, uh, named him that because the shape of his scales back when he was a baby reminded me of the flower," she shrugs before turning back to the sea. "I mean, that's a much better name than- _Orange b_ _anana_ or something."

The joke makes Kabu huff out a laugh, crossing his arms as he shakes his head. "...Still. After all these years, I can't believe he still remembered you," the hunter sighs, eyeing the shore where the three had a standoff. To think that Sonia- their most esteemed and important head researcher- would just fearlessly stand in the middle of two creatures more than ten times her size. There really is a fine line between genius and idiocy.

"Something's up with Leon," Milo approaches them, making them turn to watch the doctors repatch the bandage that Leon scratched off of his shoulder for the nth time.

The flora researcher stops just in-front of them before resting a hand on his hip, looking back at the lost expression on the Lionmaid's face. "I mean, it would be more surprising if nothing's up with him. As far as we know, he's never been wounded in a battle before. Recovery probably feels odd to him," he says as he hands Sonia some papers. The head researcher scans them before sighing in relief, slumping on her makeshift seat on a dried piece of dangerously creaking driftwood.

"Thank Gods Nessa's fine," she gives the paper to her assistant before turning back to look at a dejected looking Leon, the younger Lionmaids approaching him in concern.

They still won't know what exactly happened until Nessa awakes- the mermaid will be out cold for a few days due to the medicinal herbs but she'll be up as if nothing happened after, thankfully. All they'll have to do is to wait and figure out how to map out this new, makeshift settlement while they're here. The sea has its own set of ecology for the rescues to momentarily adapt to but, due to the inland sea still being connected to the outside via tunnels, the creatures can swim out to the colder waters if they wished to hunt for their usual prey. Other than being so far away from the other settlements, the place is perfect.

A hum that vibrates the ground catches everybody's attention as Leon rests his head on the shore, eyes downcast and lids droopy as he blinks slowly. Sonia smiles as she stands up and approaches, the doctors giving way for her. "Don't force yourself awake, Le-"

She freezes in her steps when her hand makes contact with Leon's burning skin.

"Wha-" Sonia runs her hand down the Lionmaid's cheek and dips a finger between scales, hissing in pain when she feels the incredibly hot temperature within.

This can't be... poison?! Does Raihan actually have venom?!

"Leon has a mild fever due to the bite but I assure you, his immune system will take care of any traces of poison. It's just that he's never fought against someone with toxins that can rival his before so his body's reacting this way," one of the doctors speak up upon seeing Sonia's shocked and panicked expression.

The information sinks in and the head researcher eyes Leon in guilt, running her hand just below the Lionmaid's eye. "I- I'm sorry Leon. It's because I let you do this that you're..." the head researcher trails off and sighs as the Lionmaid leans his forehead forward to press it flush against Sonia, cooing softly.

"He'll be fine, don't worry. Leon's just never been sick so he's being all dramatic like that. He'll recover easily, five hours at best and sixteen at worst," the doctor assures and Sonia nods, patting Leon's face as the Lionmaid finally closes his eyes. The head researcher walks back several steps as a few Lionmaids crawl out of the water to surround their leader and lay beside him, their cooler skin making Leon sigh as he buries his face against the entangled scales and fins of the pod. Some of the bigger ones circle the water nearby, fully alert and ready to fight just in-case the leader who always protected them needs his own protecting in a time of weakness.

Figuring that they'll be okay, Sonia turns and walks to the circle of hunters and researchers waiting for her orders, clapping her hands to take their attention.

"Alright! Let's start putting our new Inland Sea Settlement up and running!"

  
  


  
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_Carcharias Homo Varanus_ | Winged Sandtiger Dragon

Ecology: Desert, Dry Mountain Crags, Volcanic Areas

_-_ _No recorded sizes available-_

_Researcher's Note:_

_There are many kinds of Sandtiger Dragons and most of the recorded ones aren't winged but finned, diving and swimming in the desert sand as if it is their own sea. Some have claws that can grip at mountain cliffs and stay hanging, unmoving and virtually frozen for hours on end while others are more serpentine in nature and can dip themselves inside boiling lava to emerge with their sacks filled with it, ready to spit out and burn prey._ _Winged ones are very rare and, while we're here, I would love to take this opportunity to learn more about this flying subspecies._

_It's incredible how Raihan could still remember me after all this time though. Do all Winged Sandtiger Dragons have the same amazing memory or is it unique to him? We just found out through Leon that his bite is venomous too- something that the usual Sandtiger Dragons do not have. Is it something that he was born with or something he desperately adapted to out of necessity?_

_His once bright yellow and orange scales have turned into deep burgundy and rock brown, little peeks of orange and turquoise dotting his body- an odd coloration that's more reminiscent of volcanic thermal pools than the desert- not to mention that despite living in this environment for so long, his throat still has a lava sack. Looking closely, there are similar, bright sacks running down his disfigured tail too. My curious nature wants to see what they do but there's a primal human instinct in me saying that I'd rather not._

_-Head Researcher Sonia_

  
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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of the first chapter! Hope you enjoyed!!
> 
> The rating will change in the future when we get to **_those_** parts but for now, I'll set it to mature ^^


	2. Starlight Caverns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here in the New Inland Sea Settlement... Or what there currently _is_ that one may call a settlement, trouble ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's POV switching in this chapter!
> 
> Also, I named Sonia's assistant because it's a drag to call her "Sonia's Assistant" all the time!! She's just basically the female Doctor Trainer Class except Monster Hunter-ized lol

_Phoca Homo Vitulina_ | Giant Harbour Sealmaid

Ecology: Arctic Waters, Shallow Cave Systems, Seaside Rock Formations

Avg. Adult Size: 6.2 meters

_Researcher's Note:_

_Sealmaids may look like mermaids but they are distinctly different. For one, sealmaids do not have gills and are actually mammals through and through, simply gaining the ability to endure long dives with only a single breath as they grow older and their lungs strengthen._ _Their thick tails, despite looking soft, are actually resilient against attacks when flexed at the right moment and their bodies are also covered by a layer of fat to protect them from the Arctic cold._

_Just recently, they have discovered how to weave thick scarves out of fallen downy feathers from sea-faring harpies. Thanks to the waterproof downs that these birds tend to have, the garments allow them to have extra oxygen underwater, aiding them in their diving time. These, however, require them to have extra care in their movements to not let the air escape._

_To counter this, the largest female tends to wear the most while the rest are mostly left bare, allowing for hunters that can move freely while an 'oxygen station' gently follows nearby should they need it. The children are encouraged_ _to wear these scarves too, for their own safety, as they might not be able to estimate their own endurance in these wild waters yet._

_-Researcher Piña, Sonia's Assistant_

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"Is it really alright to keep the Sealmaids and Lionmaids so close together?" Sebastian, one of the hunters from the Volcanic Settlement who ran off and came here to give them a hand, asks as he eyes his friends playing with some young sealmaids in hopes of tiring them out.

Kabu momentarily glances up from the rope he's trying to knot before going back to what he's doing, grunting. "Sonia said that it's fine so it's fine. Besides, the sealmaids are indebt to Leon since he helped them get to the shore earlier. They're not going to attack without reason," the hunter captain says as he finishes up and pats his handiwork.

Sealmaids and Lionmaids have... a bumpy history.

When Sealmaid pods sometimes get too cocky, they'll try to attack a lone Lionmaid- their usually big size ensuring them that all their members would be fed a big meal. This, in turn, would backfire due to a single Lionmaid, no matter the size, would almost _always_ be strong enough to fend off attackers, not to mention the toxins from their spines can incapacitate in mere seconds.

As such, whole Sealmaid pods can be destroyed by a single Lionmaid alone if they are not cautious.

It doesn't help that their prey overlap too- and it just so happened that Lionmaids are a wee bit higher in the foodchain than Sealmaids are.

Well, Leon is quite the benevolent creature though and as far as Kabu knows from the records he's read in his spare time, ever since the pod started centuries ago, they've avoided attacking merfolk like them. Now that Kabu thinks about it, doesn't it seem more terrifying that a pod of Lionmaids would rather confidently attack and kill a fully armored Sea Serpent than a group of slightly different merfolk out of goodwill? The 93% catch rate in their data isn't just there for display- if they start chase, they do it for the _kill_.

Sealmaids too- they are known for ambushing sea creatures and purposefully guiding them to dead ends in glacial caves, using teamwork and strategy so that the whole family will be fed their share once they set their eyes on something. Not to mention- these guys are merciless, uncaring if the prey they set their eyes on are merfolk or not. They aren't known to attack humans but still, just because they look cuddly, gentle, and move kind of funny on land, that doesn't erase the fact that their tails are littered with scars from territorial disputes, fights to the death, and attempts at taking fish that has already been caught by fishing vessels, ones that are ready to be lift out of the sea and into ships.

Ah- and to think these guys are together in the inland sea right now... sometimes Kabu wonders if Sonia is crazy for ordering such a thing or if _he_ is the crazy one for unconditionally following her.

_"Sonia, huh,"_ Sebastian whispers warily under his breath as he helps the captain with the rope, the two of them pulling it back a few meters before shakily setting the knot down and hammering a wooden nail through it and into the ground.

Kabu huffs out a laugh before looking up to the tent they finished setting up, shaking his head. "You sound very doubtful. Flower plant those worms in your head?" The captain says as Sebastian jolts to look at him, face pale.

_'Flower'_ is a codename the younger recruits tend to call Rose when talking about him so that they won't get caught trash talking red-handed. The older hunters easily caught on the nickname though and instead of ratting them out, they started using it when gossiping too. No one likes snitches.

Sebastian looks down, color blooming in his cheeks as Kabu gives him a reassuring pat on the back. "No worries kid, not a lot of people here like him either," the captain says before walking off to get some equipment to put inside the tent, Sebastian following him dutifully. "That _Flower_ used to support Sonia in her studies when she was a child, even payed for her traveling expenses when she took a short trip to the New World to study the diverse habitats there," Kabu says, kicking a box to use as a makeshift table and setting several pieces of metal ready to be put together for some device- used to study ground movement or something like that. Not his job, he'll leave it to the researchers.

"Really? Then why does he..." Sebastian trails off, confusion in his features.

Kabu gives him a glance before taking one of the fabrics bundled up in the young hunter's arms, dusting it off before folding it onto woven stools for a makeshift bed of somesort that will most likely be used as a glorified table once the researchers settle here. "Probably realized that Sonia got too smart for her own good. She's a stubborn one, you see. Doesn't like following his orders."

"Ah, and unlike the Volcanic Settlement that focuses on hunting creatures for their materials and what not, Sonia prefers studying them from afar, watching and guiding and all that," the captain moves to exit the tent and Sebastian panics for a few beats before just depositing the fabric bundle on the table, jogging to catch up to the older hunter, carefully walking over uneven stones and still-unused wood that are harder to see under the setting sun. "Do you think these guys would be here if Flower's in-charge?" Kabu eyes him over his shoulder, making Sebastian stop to look around, over the shuffling busybodies of the camp and into the darkening inland sea.

He catches sight of a young researcher by the shore, trying to show a juvenile Sealmaid how to braid using a Lionmaid's hair.

The young hunter purses his lips before shaking his head. "No, he'll take advantage of this and they'll be caught. Brought to the blacksmiths in an instant."

Kabu lets out a dry chuckle, patting Sebastian's shoulder before turning around to make a beeline to the camp's current makeshift canteen. The smell of spices fill the air, catching the attention of Hunters and Researchers alike. "Here, we take what we need, not what we can. If all are rich, the world would run dry," he gives the young hunter a gentle look before pushing a drink in his hands. "For the New Inland Sea Settlement!"

_"For the New Inland Sea Settlement!!"_ Voices cheer and laugh in reply, lifting drinks up in the air as the night chill permeates the desert lands. 

  
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Hunters stir in the wee hours of morning, catching the sound of badly hushed talking and panicked voices.

"Gone? Wha- how- gone where?! And no one noticed??"

It's only been past a day in the Inland Sea Settlement- or what there currently is of their makeshift camp- and it appears that problems are already arising.

"What's happening? What's the fuss about?" Kabu exits the hunters' temporary quarters, followed by the three hunters from the Volcanic Settlement. Sonia turns to him, eyes glassy and expression barely holding in tears. Kabu immediately rushes to her side, followed by the vigilant hunters. Sebastian, who's still a little groggy, is getting dragged by the arm.

"Leon- he- Leon's gone!!" Sonia frantically lets out, pointing at the Lionmaids and Sealmaids jumping all over the surface of the Inland Sea, whistling and chirping to each other as they search. A lionmaid emerges to the shore with a pale look on her face, shaking her head.

The Volcanic Settlement hunters eye each other before one of them speaks up. "The leader of the Lionmaid pod?' one of the female hunters ask, making Sonia and Kabu turn to them.

"Ah, Sonia. These are hunters from the Volcanic Settlement. They arrived yesterday afternoon seeking to provide us help," Kabu introduces them and they slightly bow towards the head researcher in respect.

The smallest one, the one who asked the earlier question, speaks up. "I am Aria. I use the hammer. This is Camilla, she uses the longsword- and this is Sebastian, he uses the insect glaive," she introdues herself and everybody else, the hunters nodding a little when they are regarded. "... _Leon_ is the name of the one missing, yes? Did no one really see him? Isn't he... enormous?" She asks again, meeting eyes with the much taller Camilla. From what they caught a glimpse of yesterday, the Lionmaid seemed to be fast asleep by the shore, surrounded by the other lionmaids of his pod.

With such a size, how could none of them feel him leaving?

Sonia lets out a shaky breath that makes shoulders rise up. Piña, her assistant, rubs her back to soothe her, eyeing the head researcher with worry. No doubt she's blaming herself for this. Everyone got too tired from the big move they did yesterday and the desert night air was pleasantly cool compared to its morning heat. They got too laid back and put their guards down, nobody expected _this_ to happen.

"The... the Lionmaids woke up with the space where he's supposed to be just... empty! No one heard a splash or even felt him leave- it's like he disappeared into thin air!" Sonia hisses as she looks up and covers her eyes with the balls of her palms. Kabu approaches her and wraps her in his arms, patting her head and letting it fall on his shoulder.

"Hey, hey- we'll find him. I'm sure he won't disappear without a good reason, come on," the head hunter tries only to jolt when he hears a wet sob wrack over the head researcher's body.

"No, you don't understand!! Some creatures can feel when death is near and they try and run away from it!! What if- what if-" Sonia breaks down, unable to finish the thought as a researcher frantically brings a stool over to make her sit down.

"There are some cave systems up north. Who knows, he might have felt hungry during the night and gotten lost. Don't worry too much, Sonia, we'll have some hunters go and find him," Piña tells her as she hands the head researcher a glass of water to drink.

The Volcanic Settlement hunters perk up. "We'll do it! We're good at exploring cave systems, there's a lot of those from where we came from," Sonia looks up and finally, _finally,_ actually looks at them, wiping her wet cheeks with her sleeves.

"I'll go with-"

"The settlement needs its head, Sonia. There are still a lot of things to do and set up," Piña sighs as the head researcher frowns at her. Her assistant gives the Volcanic Settlement hunters a quick glance that only Sonia could see, the head researcher blinking and slowly sitting up as she calms down a little bit.

The two researchers talk to each other with only their eyes, the hunters glancing around at each other as Sonia gives a huff and stands up, giving the glass of water to one of the researchers beside her.

"You'll... really help us?" She asks, only a tinge of wariness in her tone as she fixes her poise.

The Volcanic Settlement hunters straighten up. "To the best of our abilities, yes," Camilla affirms, looking at the other hunters as they nod. Piña gives the hunters a squint before jolting when a hand grabs her shoulder.

"Then I trust you to keep this Head Researcher safe. Piña, you're the head for now," Sonia nods as she gives her flabbergasted assistant's shoulder a squeeze before walking off to her tent.

"Wha- Wai- Me?! Wha-" before Piña could even finish articulating a full sentence, the researchers who were waiting to show Sonia today's workload all come up to her to show her papers, unable to complain as she reflexively scans the data handed to her.

Sonia grabs a Sword and Shield quick before walking out, stopping in-front of a Kabu who doesn't look too happy at her decision.

"Sonia, you are _not_ -"

"Yes I am. They are with me and they're keeping me safe. _**Right**_ _?"_ The head researcher turns to the young hunters who all jolt when Kabu fixes them with a glare. Aria purses her lips and nods her head fast as Sebastian follows suit- bobbing his head up and down frantically.

Sonia gives the hunter captain a smile before letting out a _"Let's go!!"_ as she turns around to start walking to the direction of the cave systems up north, the region's map long memorized in her head. Kabu gives the hunters a stern look before his expression gives way to one of worry, sighing as he claps Sebastian on the shoulder, pats Aria's head, and fixes Camilla with a trusting nod.

"Watch over her, okay?" A look of defeat crosses the head hunter's face as he sees them off.

The hunters give him varying degrees of goodbyes before jogging up to catch up to the briskly walking Sonia who's already several long paces ahead of them. Camilla is the one who frowns and regards the head researcher with a sigh. "With all due respect, Ma'am. I don't think we'd properly be able to conduct this hunt while making sure that you are sa-"

"This is not a hunt."

Shoulders rise as Sonia halts, sharply turning back to regard them and closing her distance with the three, a heavy atmosphere enveloping the group as she gives them a watchful leer, piercing green eyes zero'd.

"This is simply a search. Those weapons sheathed on your backs are **_not_** going to be used to attack for the duration of this search unless I explicitly say so. These weapons I'm holding are not here for fighting but are only with me so I can get around easier. _You're_ the ones who has to keep up. Not me."

It takes a couple of beats before Camilla notices that Aria has shuffled a little bit to hide behind her during the duration of the talk while Sebastian is shock still a few paces away, practically frozen solid.

**"Do you understand?"**

_"Y-yes-!"_

"A-absolutely."

"Understood, ma'am."

As if a weight has been lifted off of their shoulders, Sonia's expression morphs into a bright smile, walking back a couple of steps before turning to continue on her way. "Good! Let's go!"

Camilla turns to Aria as Sebastian stutters before reaching them, face pale.

_What on earth have they gotten themselves into?_

  
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_It feels... hot._

Leon hums and stirs in his sleep, groaning in discomfort when his cheek digs into warm stone.

How odd. He remembers silently leaving the pile his pod made around him last night because he felt too cold and he didn't want to disturb them- and now he feels too hot he wishes he never left. This body of his is making him feel ridiculous things. One of his little podmates told him that he's _sick_ and that it's normal and he'll feel better soon. When is soon coming? And how does he make it come faster?

He feels thirsty... where is he right now?

The lionmaid groggily opens his lidded eyes to look up, blearily seeing twinkling stars in the pitch-black night sky. Ah, it's still nighttime... He doesn't know where he is right now though and in this darkness, he won't be able to properly grasp his surroundings. Oh well, everybody will see him when morning comes, surely.

He wiggles a little for a better position only to jolt and wince with a pained keen when his hand meets something hot, withdrawing it to his chest.

It makes him wake up more as he properly takes stock of his surroundings. He's... not outside- and it's not completely dark either- it appears he's in a cave. Looking around, he freezes when he finds himself on top of what looks like falls- or some sort of natural terraces made of weathered glass and marble. He shakily breathes out as he pulls his body away from the edge, running a hand over the smooth surface and wondering how exactly he got here.

Last night... last night he swam looking for warmth and found an odd shore he draped his body against, heating him up to the core.

It appears that the water must've receeded and he's left on top of this place in a low tide. The shore far down looks lit up, a peek of how bright it must currently be outside from wherever the light is seeping in and scattering below.

He can't just carelessly dive. The water is too shallow and he'll end up hurting himself.

Leon looks up again to take a better look at the _stars_ , eyes widening as he properly sees that they are actually thousands and thousands of glittering lights stretched out the ceiling, some moving while some not. His pupils turn into slits as he focuses on them, deducing that they are very tiny, light-emitting creatures- insects, the humans call them- attached to stalactites high above.

He's never seen anything like them before.

Figuring that he wants a closer look, he moves only for his world to spin, his hand grabbing onto too hot stones as he closes his eyes and hisses. If he lets go, he might fall down the wrong way and brake.

Leon coos at his own hand as he rubs and soothes it with his other, looking around for a safe way to get down. He lets out a call, only for the sound to echo and return back to him, much to his disdain. Pursing his lips, he lets out an even louder one, hearing his own voice reverb against the cave walls as he desperately eyes the terraces.

_He's so thirsty._ How long has he been out of the water? Is it because of the heat of this cavern that he feels like he's being dried under the sun despite it currently not being above his head?

The lionmaid carefully lies his body flat against the cave floor and reaches his head to a lower terrace step, dipping his tongue out into one of the small puddles that have been left over.

He withdraws his tongue with a grimace. The water's long been warmed from the heat of the stones surrounding him and... it doesn't taste like seawater anymore, a metallic tang spreading into his mouth and making him have the strong urge to spit it out. He sits up and looks over what seems like lakes behind him, frowning at the faint steam emitting from them. These must be... hot springs? That's what humans call these, right?

The lionmaid lets out a sad keen as he looks back down the terraces, eyeing the shallow yet fresh seawater below, long mewls slowly turning high-pitched out of desperation as his throat starts to hurt from dehydration, his lonely voice trying to reach someone- _anyone-_ just so he knows he's not hopelessly alone.

Just as he's slowly succumbing to darkness, eyes drooping as he tries to punch out the last of his sad cries before falling into an exhausted sleep that he might never wake up from, a deep rumble resonates behind him, a familiar growl filling the air.

_Wait,_ ** _not_** **_you_** _._

**_Anyone_** **_but you._**

Leon is in no way, shape or form ready for a fight- especially against someone who's the main reason why he got sick in the first place. This place- is this part of his territory too? There's water here so it _still_ can be part of what they're sharing, right? Then again, lizards are attracted to heat so he won't be surprised if this particular cave system is part of his actual den.

_Ah,_ what is Leon doing- he can't believe that such a stupid, sick-hazed decision will be the cause of his demise.

He begrudgingly forces his eyes open as clawed talons come into view, slowly looking up to see the dragon eyeing him with gleaming, blue eyes. Ah, it reminds him of the sea when it sparkles underneath the sun. How poetic that it's the last thing he sees.

Just as he's closing his eyes again, a movement makes him whimper, the dragon pushing him so that he's facing upwards to the ceiling. The sound is grating even to his own ears, mouth dry and throat painful from the lack of water.

Leon's mouth falls open as he starts struggling to breathe from the lack of moisture, gills painfully retracting and expanding in search for air despite having an abundance of it, a primal need kicking in as he feels like crying even though it's stupid and would probably just be a waste of the precious water that's still in his body.

Something wet touches his gills and he stutters in a painful inhale as he opens his eyes to peek, the dragon licking up and down his neck and over the exposed bite wound that he left yesterday. _Ah, is he tasting him?_ To think that he won't just be killed for crossing territory but _eaten_ for breakfast too. He chokes out what sounds like a dry weep and turns away to brace himself for the bite that's probably about come. Instead of the clamping of jaws, the dragon growls and tries to hold him up with a clawed arm, attempting to pull and bring him to one of the hot springs nearby. The lionmaid gasps and weakly struggles in panic, trying to crawl the other way so that he won't be cooked alive only to be pinned down before he could fall down the steep cliff of marble.

He's desperate to the point of breaking his own bones if it means reaching the seawater below.

To his surprise, the dragon starts licking the other side of his neck, thoroughly wetting his gills and allowing him to breathe normally again for a short period of time. It makes Leon think clearer as his sight slightly loses its darkening edges, watching as the dragon crawls down the steep steps and into the water below, so shallow it only reaches his ankles.

The dragon gives Leon a glance before dipping his mouth in. What is he doing? He can't drink seawater, he's a lizard. The warm freshwater from the springs is what he's supposed to be drinking, not that.

The lionmaid's eyes lid as he feels his gills start to dry up again, blearily watching as the dragon flaps his wings for a boost up the steps. Cloudy golden eyes close just as the lionmaid feels something tilt his face, a talon dipping between dry lips.

_Water._

_Seawater._

Leon gasps in a rich breath as seawater fills his mouth, hands reaching up to grasp the container and keep it steady as he gulps desperately, panting heaves of air through his mouth and nose as some of the water spills and drips down his torso, blessing him with moisture. Sounds escape him as he blearily drinks, arms wrapping around... _something_ as he takes in the last of the water and licks what he can from the container's opening, his eyes fluttering open to see-

-That the container was actually the dragon's head.

_And_ what he's desperately licking into is actually an agape, fanged mouth.

He snaps his own mouth shut, eyes widening as he takes in what just happened, realizing that his arms are wrapped around the glorified lizard's neck and keeping him close. He probably would've yelped and pushed the other away have he not been completely frozen in shock and _still_ parched, bright blue eyes blinking down at him with curiosity as a tongue- much longer than his- dips between his lips and pries his mouth open.

A sound that Leon's never heard himself make before leaves his throat as they fully connect, albeit not perfectly due to the difference in the shape of their lips. The long appendage copies the way Leon licked the dragon's mouth earlier, a new flow of water filling him.

_"Mmh-"_ a cut sound leaves Leon as his eyes flutter close, gulping in the new flow of seawater and wincing at its underlying metallic tang, something the first batch didn't have. He isn't given a chance to complain about the aftertaste as a long tongue licks in his mouth, making him feel light-headed... or is the new batch of odd water making him light-headed? He's not so sure.

A shudder wracks through his body once he finishes drinking, erratic jolts coursing through him every now and then as he tries to recover from the assault in his senses, feeling his body heat up again as he- undoubtedly- starts feeling _sick_ like he did yesterday. Why? He doesn't understand, he remembers what the human doctor said- shouldn't he have recovered now?

A concerned growl leaves the dragon's throat and Leon gasps when his palm touches something cold. Under the rough, rock-like scales over the dragon's body that serves as protective armour, there are smaller, more reptilian scales that feels cold to the touch. _Oh_ , right, reptiles are cold-blooded after all.

The body above him stills when Leon buries his face against the crook of the dragon's neck, relishing in the cool surface as he tries to press himself flush against the other to soothe his burning... everything. His body feels too hot, audible breaths leaving him in short pants as he tries to cool himself down.

Leon keens when an arm wraps under him, pulling him close as the dragon attempts to descent the terraces with him in tow, the lionmaid's still dry tail held up by a craggy one in hopes of it not just helplessly sliding down the marble and sabotaging their balance.

The dragon climbs down better even with one limb short, much better than how Leon would have helplessly toppled down the steps if he tried so earlier. A sigh leaves the lionmaid as his back meets cold water, his gills opening as he dips his face to the side to drink from the fresh sea. The dragon slowly lets go only to still when a webbed hand follows and clutches his arm, the mermaid letting out a panicked keen as he hugs the arm against his chest to keep the dragon from moving away.

_Don't just leave me!_

Leon desperately eyes the other but he's not understood, the dragon tilting his head to the side in silent question. A whine leaves Leon as he shuffles closer, wrapping the reptile with his arms to bury himself flush against a cold chest.

He feels ashamed doing this but he can't help it- in his long life, he's never been alone like this. There is always someone with him at all times, whether it be a tiny Sonia playing around along his fins or some of his podmates dancing in the water in the distance. To think he's feeling unwell with no one familiar enough nearby makes a sinking feeling settle in his stomach- the thought of being all by himself in-case something happens, in-case it all takes a turn for the worst, doesn't sit well in his chest. He'll take any chance he could get just so he won't be alone right now.

A hand pushes him away just as a tongue peeks out to start licking all over Leon's cheek, coating his face with spit. The lionmaid frowns in confusion as his torso is carefully placed against the bottom of the steps, the dragon starting to taste him with long drags all over- for some reason.

Leon doesn't know what this is about. Is this what they call... grooming? He's seen cats and dogs by the shore do something similar to this- is the dragon doing the same thing?

The lionmaid really doesn't know what the other is doing but he lets him finish _whatever this is_ up, body relaxing as the other settles himself on the terrace steps and out of the water as much as he can, cradling Leon's face against his cold chest. The lionmaid hums as he rubs his cheek against the other's neck, eyeing the bright orange _sack thing_ where a human's adam's apple would be.

What does he use that for?

... ...And why does it look smaller now? He remembers it looking much bigger earlier after drinking the seawater from his mouth. Is that where he stored the second batch?

Leon grimaces. That doesn't sound very nice.

He looks up only to still when he sees bright blue eyes staring at him, unreadable. The lionmaid blinks before tilting his head to the side, watching the dragon blink back at him before copying the movement with a curious glint in his eyes.

_You're odd._

Leon chuckles, poking the tip of the dragon's nose and watching him tilt his head back and away, eyes wide as the lionmaid laughs at the reaction.

His laughter dies down as he starts to feel groggy, heavy eyelids drooping as he reaches a hand out to hold onto the dragon's middle talon, just to make sure that the other would stay with him as he sleeps, settling himself in position more comfortably before sighing and letting his eyes rest.

  
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_Istiompax Homo Indica_ | Torpedo Marlin Mermaid

Ecology: Open Sea

Avg. Adult Size: 2.23 meters

_Researcher's Note:_

_"Bitch! Get me the fuck outta' here!" Are the first words Nessa said to me when I first saw her trapped in a fishing net while I was checking for flora samples in a nearby kelp forest. This instance was the first time a mermaid fluent in an actual spoken language has reached out to the Seaside Set_ _tlement so I guess that's forever written on record now! She didn't seem very apologetic upon learning about that fact too!_

_Now, where was I... Oh, yes, right, research notes! Oh, dear, Sonia's handwriting is a little hard to read, isn't it? Ahaha._

_Ehem! Torpedo Marlin Mermaids are named as such from an ancient weapon in a long forgotten era of mankind, an underwater missile that homes targets and launches at high speeds. These mermaids are the same way, capable of reaching over 90 kilometers an hour when traveling in a straight line. They, however, tend to be too focused on the task and end up not noticing everything happening around them while doing so, sometimes causing disastrous accidents like punching a hole through a ship, getting stuck halfway through rock formations and even slicing through equipment and the like._

_'Torpedoes', huh. Sounds quite terrifying!_

_Are Torpedoes sturdy though? Because Marlinmaids are very very resilient, that's for sure! If you're on a ship and just collided with a hurrying one, that ship's going down and you'll be left with a sinking pile of wood and a slightly dizzy mermaid who's only gonna be winded for a while!_

_-Flora Researcher Milo_

  
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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I doodled a scene from last chapter lol
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this one! Thanks for reading 💖


	3. Hidden in the Desert Den

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sonia and the hunters find their way to a mysterious cavern, still unmarked in their maps.
> 
> Meanwhile, Raihan awakes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I gave Raihan's gym trainers a role, yeea!! ✨✨
> 
> Also, if you play Monster Hunter, it's pretty easy to guess which one of them has the highest HR from just looking at their armour sets lol

Volcanic Settlement Hunters

_Researcher's Notes:_

_Judging from the material their armour and weapons are made of, they seem to be part of the Elite._

_Used to the heat, they don't need any cold drinks to traverse volcanic areas and the desert. They're most likely the perfect people to call if you need a giant boar or a lava dragon taken down- we don't need more people like those here though. Kabu and his hunters are more than enough for those kinds of jobs._

_Why are they here though? And after Oleana made it a point that they won't be giving us help... Kabu said that they came here on their own volition but what reason do they have to do so? I don't know if it's just Piña's critical nature rubbing on me but something feels off about this._

_Despite probably used to running around in the volcanic areas to hunt a monster, sand is an entirely different kind of terrain to traverse._ _Those heavy armors would most likely weigh them down. They'll need to have enough stamina to run around while sinking every other step or they'll have to shed those things off in favor of light armor. They better be ready though because they won't be hunting anytime soon._

_-Head Researcher Sonia_

  
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Camilla runs, kicking sand behind her as she eyes Sonia surfing down a sand hill atop her shield, kicking it so she can launch up and land on the harder ground before catching it without looking when it falls straight to her hand.

"Feels like the head researcher doesn't really need us, _"_ Aria slows to a stop beside Camilla, frowning when Sebastian lands nearby, sheathing his insect glaive behind him. "No fair! You've been flying and zooming all over the place!" The smaller hunter points at Sebastian who just huffs, eyeing the hammer on Aria's back.

"None of us knew that this was going to happen, you know?" The hunter says, pursing his lips at Aria's pout.

They jog up as they watch Sonia approach the shore and look over the water, the head researcher's eyes narrowing as she crouches down and touches weathered ground.

Camilla slows down to a stop as she blinks and looks around. Isn't the creature they're currently looking for a... _lionmaid_? He would've been in the water the whole time- there's no use looking for tracks on land. Land tracks are nonexistent.

Before the hunter could speak up and say what's on her mind, Sonia stands up and looks around, mumbling under her breath. "... Miss Head Researcher?" Camilla calls as she approaches carefully, wary of the woman's erratic nature.

"Lowtide."

The hunters look at each other as Sonia starts walking again. "It must've been hightide last night. If he did indeed silently made it into the caverns, he won't be able to go out until the tide rises again," she informs them, making a beeline to what seems like a shallow cave, the top similar to a bridge-like rock formation. Sebastian takes out a small booklet from his pack and opens it up, revealing an amalgamation of paper sketches woven together to be a map. For some reason, he couldn't find their exact location through his surroundings, opting to just taking out a compass to check only to discover that Sonia is heading east instead of north.

"Miss Sonia, that's the wrong way!" Sebastian says as he follows, only to receive a shake of the head.

"Leon wouldn't know that the caves to the outside sea is up north. Even if he did, he's too hopeless with directions to even know where _north_ is." The researcher informs him without even looking back, climbing up a rocky hill and standing atop as she looks around to scan the area. The hunters reach were she is and blink at their surroundings, all turning to look at Sebastian's map and trying to find where this area they're in would be.

Sonia points at a wall-like structure, twirling her finger at the crown-like shapes on top. "During high tide, that top part would sink and be non-existent. The water would stretch out far over there," she turns a little to point to an empty valley, the material of the soil almost similar to a mudpool. "The sand hill we slid down from wouldn't be here. It'll be the shore."

The sand hill that _she_ slid down from while everybody else jogged after her?

The hunters turn to look at the sand hill, frowning as they take in its massive height before turning back to the researcher who's already making her way past the mudpools, taking half a beat of frantic shuffling around to stand up before they jog and follow.

They all slow down to a stop as they look down what appears to be a steep sinkhole, a complex rock formation with countless cavern-like holes stretching up from the middle, winding and disappearing into red cliffs far beyond the sand hills. They couldn't see it because of the redstone walls but now that it's in sight, they can't help but feel small as it stretches high- like a mountain in size.

"It's like a castle," Sonia's jaw drops in awe, looking around to look for any creatures that would no doubt be using this as their home only to be puzzled when she can't find any. "Odd. Not even tiny wyverns flying near the cliffs? From this place's size I would've expected it to house a lot of creatures during the lowtide."

"It's a dragon's den."

Aria lets out, glancing at the other hunters as they nod at it in affirmation, Camilla's hands twitching a little as she stops the reflex of holding onto her longsword's sheath. Sonia whips her head around to look at her, eyes wide.

"R-really?!" Her green eyes fill with countless emotions- curiosity, wonder, amazement-

_Horror_.

Is this Raihan's den? What if Leon got lost in there? There's a truce so they wouldn't have started to fight at first sight, right? Surely, the lionmaid would know that he's in a great disadvantage and wouldn't start it- and Raihan... Raihan's a wildcard but he did allow to share his territory and left them peacefully. Sonia's sure that the two creatures both know and understand a truce when they see one- hopefully they won't let the earlier bad blood be a reason to act recklessly.

_"I-is it really-_ I've never seen one so up close before," she hushes out, running a hand through her hair before dropping her shield to the sand and pushing it with her feet so she can surf down into the pit, the hunters jolting before they could have the chance to warn her not to. They should've seen that coming, really. If a researcher hasn't seen _something_ before, they'll want to have a closer look.

Sebastian whips out his insect glaive to boost himself forward, his trusty companion helping him glide down effortlessly. Camilla holds Aria's hand and helps her balance herself as they skid down the sand, hunter senses blaring up just in-case something is about to happen. Sebastian's feet lands down the bottom with a _squish,_ he and Sonia blinking up at each other as they lift a foot to reveal their footprints housing a puddle of water. Aria yelps once she and Camilla arrives at the bottom, sinking almost to her knees as water pools around her. She sits back to balance her weight even just a little, stopping her slow descent.

"You'll have to ditch the hammer," Sebastian winces as Aria looks up at him as if he's grown a second head.

Sonia walks a few more steps, watching her wet, shallow trail on the soft sand. "This must feel almost like a quicksand for larger creatures. No wonder no one's around," the researcher looks up at the structure, squinting her eyes at the small holes that would've been perfect for birds or small wyvern nests except not actually housing anything. "What's keeping the flying creatures out though? The sand isn't one of their problems. This place would sink when hightide comes but the nests high up would still be unreached, protected by a big body of water."

Camilla helps pull Aria's hammer to the slope, pushing it into the safe sand so it won't sink while they're gone as the smaller hunter climbs out of the path she inevitably made from almost crawling with the heavy weapon, standing up and biting her lip when she still sinks halfway through her ankle. "At least you'd be able to walk better," Camilla assures, only receiving a worried nod as the smaller hunter fixes the carving knife on her lower back to the side, a poor substitute for an actual weapon. Aria looks up when the taller hunter steps closer, leaning down to whisper in her ear. _"If something happens, I'll trust you to be the one pulling the head researcher away to safety, okay?"_

She steps back and receives a determined nod from Aria before turning back to the head researcher who's blinking at them with owlish eyes. "Oh. _Oh._ Uh-" Sonia fumbles around and deattaches the sheath of her sword and shield from her hip before handing it to Aria, making the small hunter blink. "Here, since you must be feeling really uncomfortable without your weapon. I'll- be _fine_ , I have my own set of carving knives with me. 'Sides, you'll be using those better," she awkwardly affirms, depositing the equipment in the small hunter's arms before clearing her throat and walking off.

The hunters blink at each other before following, Aria easily fixing the weapons onto her armor even without looking. The closer they get to the caverns at the bottom, the louder the sounds of squelching the sand makes, making them grimace as they waddle towards stone.

Once they arrive on more stable footing at the mouth of the cave, Sonia motions Sebastian closer with a specific hand movement that the hunter immediately understands, taking out the map in his booklet as they all huddle together to look.

"We're currently right here," she circles her finger around a bay-like area with a single cavern in the middle, the hunters blinking as they look around at the formation they're in and catching sight of barnacles along the walls. "It appears almost this whole place sinks when hightide comes and only leaves a third of it jotting out."

" '... _It appears?'_ How could you deduce that? And how are you sure we're here?" Sebastian asks, blinking down at the unlabeled part of the map and scanning it as Sonia starts to walk off again, taking a closer look at the mollusks attached in clumps by the walls as Aria dutifully follows a few steps beside her, the small hunter whipping her head around at a sound only to relax back into place when a _Giant Hammer Crab_ skitters across.

_Eriphia Scyllarus_ | Giant Hammer Crab

"I have the map sketches memorized," is Sonia's answer, walking off to follow the crab as it starts pounding a big, fist-like claw against a giant clam's shell.

Despite the amazing strength of its hits, the shell keeps tightly closed and unbudging.

Almost half a minute of silence passes and when Sonia was about to turn away, thinking that the crab must've given up, the crustacean suddenly rips the clam out of its attachment on the stone and slams it into the cave floor with amazing speed.

A tiny space opens up for part of a second but that minuscule amount of time is the only thing the crab needs to push its smaller claw into the shell.

The crab moves its tiny claw inside the clam, maneuvering it around in movements that remind Sonia of someone trying to pick a lock before the clam's shell wrenches open and the crustacean dives in for a feast.

"...Hammerlocke. Sebastian, write that down there. _Hammerlocke Caverns,_ " Sonia orders as Sebastian blinks, eyebrows raising as he looks down at the blank space on his map before patting his sides for something to write with.

Camilla tilts her head to the side in question. "...How do you know that this is the place's name? For all we know, no hunter has ever traversed this cavern before," at that, the tall hunter stills when she becomes subject to Sonia's beam, a toothy grin that makes Camilla worry about what's about to come their way stretching on the head researcher's face ear to ear.

"Exactly! I just made that up," she says as the tall hunter jolts, Sebastian freezing at the side after just finishing writing the instructed name on top of the cavern's place on his map. "This is the first time our settlement's ever gone here and there's so much to see and learn. Right now, we're explorers!! _We_ get to name this place," Sonia curls her hand into a fist as she cheers, her other hand whipping out a notebook from her side as her eyes sparkle. "Are you ready for an adventure? I am! Let's thank Leon for this opportunity once we find him. Let's go!" She hoots as she walks off, Aria clapping behind her with an ecstatic beam herself as she traces the head researcher's steps happily.

Sonia notes how there seems to be more creatures inside of the cavern than outside aloud as Sebastian and Camilla both look at each other, eyeing their party of four nervously before following, the tallest hunter giving the entrance of the cavern one last glance as they head deeper into uncharted territory.

  
  


  
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_Hammerlocke Caverns_ | Area - ??

Raihan blinks an eye open and meets the sight of a peacefully sleeping face, this creature whom Sonia called _Leon._ His soft form is half draped on marble as his serpentine tail curls as much as it can against the terrace, almost transparent spines from the colorful fins slightly touching Raihan's dry, craggy tail resting on the terrace step.

The dragon carefully sits and eyes the almost still water, the only thing that's keeping the surface moving being the minute glide of fins, wetting what the other couldn't submerge of his body and tail.

_Very odd_ , Raihan can't help but think as he blinks at the hand wrapped around his middle talon, soft fingers connected together by loose, almost-translucent skin instead of separated.

Like a duck. But much bigger than a duck. And _soft_.

He hums as he notices part of the other's hair drying from being out of the seawater. Very _very_ odd indeed. He needs the specific water to live but would rather keep his body half out so that the dragon would stay- despite eyeing him with so much challenge the day before. He moves forward to lick the drying skin- feeling the same heat from earlier still emanating from the other.

Raihan dips his mouth into the pool of seawater before licking long drags across hot skin in another attempt to cool Leon down. He remembered the fish not being this hot when he coiled around Raihan in their fight yesterday and dragged him into the water- something must be off. 

Just as he's lapping against the other's plump chest, Leon stirs awake and pushes his face away with a hum. The dragon looks up and tilts his head to the side in question and receives two coos.

_...What on the sand's name is he saying?_

Raihan does not understand.

He lets a rumble emanate from his throat, asking the other to make it clearer but maybe something isn't going through right because Leon just stares at him as if waiting for him to say something even after Raihan asked him to tell him what he wants.

The dragon growls again, louder, and Leon frowns, searching his eyes as his shoulders rise in alarm. Raihan blinks and tilts his head to the side again in question, wondering why the fish is suddenly looking at him as if Raihan is planning to eat him alive.

They get into a staredown, confusion on both of their features.

This isn't working well.

Raihan huffs in defeat before dipping his mouth in the seawater again and going back to lick the fish's chest- only for his mouth to be blocked by a pair of hands as Leon shakes his head with a high-pitched, whistle-like sound. What is it? What exactly does he not want Raihan to do? Lick his chest? Then how exactly is Raihan going to cool him down now?

The lizard eyes the fish before pulling away, Leon sighing as he relaxes against the terrace steps only to jolt in surprise when Raihan just opens his mouth and lets the seawater flow out. The mermaid keens as his earlier drier body gets drenched, Raihan watching as the water pools in the dips of his torso.

This too. The human-like half of the fish's body looks soft and pliant- _it is_ , proven by how much Raihan could press into it when he licked him last time- which to the dragon is quite baffling because of the amount of effort it took to break his skin when he bit down during their territorial fight.

His line of sight was blocked when Leon suddenly crosses his arms against his chest, the dragon looking up to see the other's cheeks turning _red_ in hue. Raihan jolts up in alarm, head scales jerking up as he searches the other's body, letting out yaps of distress as he looks over the fish who purses his lips and looks back at him in confusion.

Why is he changing color like that? Is he sick? There was an old, yellow desert wyvern who took care of him when he was little and turned _really red_ when she got sick- then she flew away and never returned. Is that it? Or maybe... is he angry? There was that time when he saw that big, pickle-looking lizard far deeper in the desert get angry. His neck swelled and he got red, glowing streaks all over.

A pained growl emanates from Raihan's throat as he slowly backs off, unknowing of what to do.

Despite his earlier actions, Leon sits up in concern and holds onto his arm, cooing. Raihan frowns and sits too, at least it seems that Leon isn't angry. The red hue from his cheeks has disappeared, which was quite fast. He doesn't know that the fish could just spontaneously change color like that. That made him nervous.

He listens to the cooing sounds the fish keeps on letting out- humming as he tilts his head and moves his head scales up and down to hear him better. They sound nice, like singing, and they echo along the caverns surrounding them.

As if giving up, Leon sighs and lies back down the terrace steps, pouting. Raihan follows suit and lies down the marble similarly, facing the other and looking at his face. The color of Leon's eyes reminds him of melted gold, he's seen those before back when he was still in a cage. There was a human nearby who was making a shape using gold and the way it flowed from its container to the form she wanted to ply it into makes it look tasty- he knows they're not though.

There's gold ores in the rock mountains too and he tried to eat some once but they don't really taste like anything at all. Iron ores taste better, kind of like the hot water here that he loves drinking.

Raihan blinks when Leon frowns and purses his lips, cheeks turning red _again_ as he averts his eyes. The dragon sits up with a frown, wondering if he really _is_ sick or if changing color is a normal thing that he just does a lot.

He moves forward to give the fish's cheek a lick, feeling the same hot temperature from earlier as he watches the red on Leon's cheeks darken in hue. Maybe he really doesn't feel good. What can he do?

Ah, he felt better when he gave him water the first time, right? He didn't seem to like it the second time very much though- maybe the temperature changed when he swallowed it? Raihan isn't very sure but some wyverns that look kind of similar to him can breathe fire. Leon tried to crawl away from the water atop the steps too so maybe he just really doesn't like hot water.

Raihan hums and moves into the pool, taking in some seawater into his mouth before turning to Leon and watching him purse his lips, the red color spreading across his cheeks as he looks at him with doe-like eyes. The fish seems to anticipate it when the dragon climbed over his body, even reaching up to rest webbed hands on his shoulders and closing his eyes as Raihan leans down.

He feels the hands slide to the big scales on the back of his neck as Leon drank, the tips of his fingers pressing into the crooks in-between as his other hand runs up and down hard scales. He flicks the scales with a deep groan, unused with the feeling.

How odd- the water's now gone but Leon's soft lips are still on his, licking into his mouth as if he still wants to drink. Is this some sort of communication method that he doesn't know about? What is it called... grooming? He's seen some of the wyverns nip each other's necks- even some of the desert birds too when he watches them. Is this like that too? He hasn't seen other creatures go this far though... is it just unique to manfish?

Raihan doesn't really know what this is about but... He doesn't hate how it feels. He really likes it actually. Almost everything about Leon is very soft and it feels very nice.

Just like earlier, he copies the movement, letting his tongue slide out and occupy the other's mouth. Compared to Leon's, Raihan's tongue is so much longer so he's able to return the movements better, licking what he can of the fish and blinking when the other creature's torso arches up, pressing flush against the dragon's chest. Raihan doesn't know if that means good or bad- the other did it earlier too when he brought him down into the water. Maybe he wants to be embraced like earlier?

The dragon snakes an arm under the other to squeeze him closer, humming at the way his limb slots perfectly into place. How odd, it's as if there's a nice curve on the lower back of the other's human half that's meant specifically for this, a gentle dip of spine to rest a hand against and hold him close. If only Raihan's aren't clawed and literally just straight-up talons, it would've been easier to wrap the other and keep him in place.

A sound leaves Leon, melodic. It sounds really nice- so he pushes his tongue in deeper to hear more of it. Raihan growls when the grasp of the other creature's hands on his nape hardens, almost clawing. His scales are too hard to be penetrated by mere claws so he doesn't mind- although the feeling is really odd. When some hunters try to hunt him, they never really get to that part so this might be the first time someone's touch reached him there.

Leon's body against his is pleasantly soft. Even though the dragon feels the flexing of his muscles every now and then, Leon's still softer than any other creature in the desert that he fought before. Raihan feels his knees buck, making him kneel in the pool of seawater as he presses his body down, flush against Leon's. The fish attempts to coil his tail around the dragon's but couldn't due to the spikes so Raihan closes them. It's been so long since he had the chance to close them before, he needs to always be prepared for any enemies trying to attack him even in his sleep so he always keeps them out and stretched.

The pretty sounds that keep on leaving Leon's throat seem to grow louder and higher in pitch. There's a minute jolt coursing through the fish's body everytime they grind to try and slot into each other better, making Raihan feel a familiar pit of heat settling in his groin- uncomfortably wanting to be let out.

_Ah._

Wait- that's _bad_.

The dragon breaks off their lip-locking and unlatches Leon's coil around his tail, retreating several steps back and sitting in the pool of cold seawater as he watches Leon's hands fall on either side of his head, chest heaving up and down as he panted. Raihan catches his breath too, using his wings to scoop some water and splash it against his body, alleviating the heat.

A long, melodic keen leaves Leon and makes Raihan look up, the fish eyeing him with lidded, golden eyes, cheeks flushed and chest lightly moving as he breathes deeply. For some reason, the now-gentle red on his cheeks actually kind of suits him- unlike the harsh hue from earlier. It gives him a mix of more colors than the ones he already has.

Leon hums and languidly moves his tail from side to side, gracefully moving the water as he coos. The dragon blinks as something sinks in.

_Ah. Does that look mean..?_

Wait, no- what if he's misunderstanding? He doesn't know where Leon's from and he doesn't know if what he's doing is just normal for his kind. If the dragon follows what he thinks he wants- which may be kind of affected by his own libido- and it ends up to be just a misunderstanding, the fish might hate him and leave. He doesn't want that- Leon's nice and soft and plump and Raihan's starting to like being around him and licking him.

Looking concerned, the fish sits up on the terrace and coos for him to come near- or that's what Raihan thinks he's saying. The dragon creeps closer nevertheless and stops when arms coil around his shoulders again, Leon cooing at him as his tail moves against the water beautifully, fins spread out and making the light catch it, sparkling colors Raihan's only seen after the rare rain that falls in the desert once in a blue moon.

It appears he must be showing off. Raihan doesn't understand why though, Leon's already beautiful as is even without doing so. Raihan caught a glimpse of the other fishes of his kind- their hair and tails aren't as bright and colorful as Leon's so the dragon can understand if they need to show off to impress.

What can Raihan do to reciprocate? His body is craggy like the mountains and the only thing he can do to remotely attempt to look different is...

Oh wait, he can do _that thing-_

Raihan holds his breath and a deep rumble emanates from his throat. He watches as Leon stills, golden eyes widening as his sight focuses on the dragon's eyes before travelling down.

The orange and blue specks on Raihan's body starts dimming before flaring up into a bioluminescent glow, flickering every now and then almost like the glowworms above. Except better, of course. Raihan can use them to attack which is why he's keeping them significantly dimmer than usual- he doesn't want to hurt his new friend after all.

A webbed hand reaches up to touch the sack on Raihan's throat, where the skin currently glows the brightest. He can make the ones on his tail bright enough to momentarily light up the night but he only does that when fighting. A giggle leaves Leon as he pokes at glowing scales, the sound nice and pleasant against the dragon's ears.

Before Raihan could think of something that could make Leon do the sound again, the dragon jolts up, glowing eyes turning into slits as his head scales tilt and turn to double-take what he just sensed.

There's something off in the air.

Leon coos at him, making him look down and see a face contorted in concern. Raihan doesn't like the expression so he leans down to lick on the fish's cheek in an attempt to make it go away. Does he feel it too or is it only Raihan?

Judging from the way the golden eyes are only focused on him, the dragon deduces that the other may not know.

This little pool wouldn't be enough for Leon to fight back- not to mention his temperature has been different since earlier so he may be unwell. Has he even eaten yet? What kind of things does he eat? Plants? Rocks? Meat?

Raihan's head scales jolt up again, making him sit up fully, senses blaring. There's something that _shouldn't_ _be here_ , his insticts making a dangerous growl emanate from his throat as his tail spikes jot out fast, form alert and ready to strike. It isn't like Leon's presence- he woke up in his sleeping place near the top earlier due to the other's distress reaching him, only hearing the sad singing once he's entered the caverns. This one is much quieter- but _dangerous_. An aura that he can't quite describe other than _ready to strike_.

It must have been obvious that he was preparing for flight because Leon's suddenly on him, latching onto his arm with a whistle of distress, eyes wanting him to stay.

It _almost_ works except that something fills Raihan much stronger at the sight- a primal desire to _keep_ and _protect_ buried somewhere deep in him forcing its way out although he doesn't know exactly why.

His blue eyes sear the other's face in his memory, the dragon leaning down to give Leon's cheek a last lick before turning and walking into the pool, distancing himself from the other several paces away before fully spreading his wings and letting out a gust of wind as he boosts himself up into a high cavern. Now that he thinks of it, this might be how Leon got in here before the water sank into the earth and left.

A sad coo makes him look back as Leon crawls to the marble wall and makes a futile attempt to follow him, webbed hands slipping and falling back down into the shallow water as he calls at Raihan, a beautiful melodic call contrasting his desperate face, wishing for the dragon to come back.

_'_ _I'll be back.'_

Raihan tries to say- only to watch his growl go unheard, Leon cooing at him again and again to come back down.

The dragon grinds his jaw before turning away, leaving to the sound of the other's high-pitched cries.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we got to have a look from Raihan's POV!!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this one!! 💖💖


	4. Monster Hunters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunters are fearless, they said. They're relentless and always ready, they said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyyaaa! There will be a bunch of switching POVs ahead so I hope it's not confusing!
> 
> Also, I drew the scene where they entered the caverns from last chapter ✨

🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊

"This place is... quite spacious inside," Sonia looks around in awe as they enter a suspiciously wide space in the caverns, the researcher grabbing a pair of binoculars on her side and using it as she looks up at the twinkling dots on the ceiling several dozens of meters above. "Glowworms! And at such huge quantities too... They almost look like stars," She excitedly huffs.

Just as Sonia was about to look for a path up, she suddenly stops in her steps and turns to look behind her, seeing what seems to be... a snail-looking hermit crab clutching the bottom of her robe, attempting to pull the fabric.

"Oh, hello~ what are you?" The head researcher asks, leaning down a little and immediately raising a hand towards Aria when she sees the small hunter try to clutch the air behind her head in her peripheral vision, forgetting that her hammer was left outside of the cavern. Instead of correcting herself and clutching the sword and shield Sonia gave her, Aria just obediently nods at the researcher and backs off, letting her do what she wants.

The head researcher opens her notebook and does a loose sketch of the creature's shape, frowning a little when the small thing tries to pull on her robe again. "Now, now, that is not food, that's my uniform. Go to the barnacles there, hm?" Sonia says but only receives a distressed squeak, the hermit crab jumping up and down with the tip of her robe still clutched in-between its claws and mouth.

The group straightens up in alarm when a bunch of other creatures skitter by, all running towards the same direction- or _running away_ from the same direction- as some try to wrench themselves in-between cracks in the wall to hide while some others push their bodies into little holes. What first appeared as seemingly inconspicuous flora reveal themselves as not actually part of the plantlife by hiding into tube-like structures, some turning over to reveal rock-like bottoms that cage around them. The earlier colorful surroundings immediately turn bleak as crustaceans run away into the smaller cavern paths and coral-like creatures turn on their armoured defence mechanisms in preparation of what's about to come.

A faraway roar makes everybody jolt, both Camilla and Sebastian _immediately_ unsheathing their weapons at the sound as Aria grabs Sonia's arm in an attempt to pull her away from the impending danger. In a surprising display of force, the head researcher yanks her arm off of the hunter's hold and curses, pointing at the rest of them. " **No** **attacking**! Put those things back in their damn sheaths _right now._ "

All hunters still, staring at the head researcher agape before their heads reflexively whip up to the sound of crashing, their eyes greeted with a sandtiger dragon subspecie that they've never encountered before- the creature clutched against an uneven wall above them. An odd rumble shakes their surroundings as a faint glow emanates from its throat.

The glowworms seem to react to the creature's glow, their earlier random twinkling changing into blaring, wave-like patterns that are almost emergency siren-like.

"Stand back, Miss Sonia. We will take care of-" Sebastian stops when the head researcher curses again, running several paces towards the dragon before putting her notebook back in its place on her hip and readily putting her hands over her ears. She squeezes her eyes shut as she kneels down, bracing for an impact.

The dragon lets out a ground-shaking roar, making the hunters stagger back and reflexively drop their weapons to cover their heads, momentarily blinded by a flash of light that brightens up the surroundings like a flashbomb. The deafening sound makes the caverns shake around them as some barnacles and clams fall from their place on the cave walls, the tiny squeaks from other creatures getting covered by rumbling as the cavern quakes as if in fear itself. A loud thud resounds when the dragon lets himself fall down, landing just behind Sonia.

Once the echo of the sound stops ringing in their ears, the head researcher immediately grabs the two carving knives on her back, pointing them at the hunters. "Sheath. Your. Weapons. Have you already forgotten what I told you earlier," she lets out, receiving a deep growl from behind her as the dragon's pupils turn into slits.

Aria blinks the stars out of her vision before freezing at the sight, blood running cold. "M-miss Sonia, don't move-"

"I'll move however the _fuck_ I want!" Sonia practically screams, waving her knives around and making the hunters step back. To their surprise, the dragon doesn't attack, seemingly engrossed in a glaredown with...

Camilla.

-Camilla who's frozen in-place midway her attempt to kneel and pick her longsword up from the cave floor, glaring back.

A rumble resonates around them as the dragon's growl vibrates around the area, stance dangerous and ready to lounge out if the hunter makes the slightest wrong move.

Sonia glances up at the dragon's head above her before looking at the hunters, gritting her teeth upon catching up with what's happening. "Camilla, slowly raise your hands and step back. _Now_ ," she orders but the hunter doesn't abide, Camilla's brows furrowing deeper as she bites her lip, scanning the rest of the dragon's body in her peripheral vision while maintaining eye-contact with the creature as several different scenarios run in her head, digging her feet in the ground just in-case she needs to immediately bolt towards a direction.

Judging from the armour-like scales on the dragon's head, her longsword will bounce right off and prove useless. Blunt damage is needed in order to break down its defenses- Aria's hammer would've been perfect in this situation. They wrongfully judged the monsters in this area- this dragon is incredibly high rank compared to the small fry they saw during their trip to the settlement. To think such a dangerous creature lives here, no wonder there were no other dragons and wyverns around.

It's safe to assume that this place is its den. It has the advantage both in situation and in terrain. They've never faced a winged subspecie of the Sandtiger dragon before so its attack pattern is most likely different from the ones they have in the volcanic areas but judging from the way it's stanced, its belly _may_ be its weak spot. The tail is long enough to assume that it's cuttable and carvable-

_**"Camilla."** _

The hunter doesn't know how Sonia was able to exactly do it but the venom dripping from her voice makes Camilla break eye contact with the dragon, her stomach dropping when she meets Sonia's absolutely seething eyes.

"If you pick up that sword, I hope you're ready to not hesitate to cut me down. Because **_I_** won't hesitate to cut _ **you**_ _._ "

Camilla reflexively staggers back- a primal instinct to run away almost kicking in her defenses. She sees Sebastian take a few shaky retreating steps while Aria stays practically unmoving and frozen in place. Forget about the dragon who _almost_ steps back too- the head researcher's current demeanor is almost making the whole cavern feel _cold_ despite the steam slightly appearing on the glowing parts of the dragon's skin.

The tall hunter shakily lifts her hands up and the atmosphere immediately lifts, the two other hunters following suit even though they don't need to. Sonia huffs out a breath before turning her head to look behind her, knives still outstretched just in-case.

"Hey, Raihan," Sonia lets out gently and the dragon blinks before situating himself lower, growling as he pokes the head researcher's body with his nose. The researcher smiles before sheathing her carving knives back into place, fully turning around and spreading her arms wide to give the dragon's face a big hug.

A purr resonates along their surroundings as Aria falls to her knees, legs failing and losing the strength to hold her up.

In all the years in her career of successfully hunting and defeating monsters, who knew that it's a human that makes her freeze up in place and actually fear for whatever would've come next? She never froze up when there's a creature in-front of her before even though she's flawlessly hunted creatures even bigger than the dragon in-front of them right now.

Sebastian gulps as he shakily straightens himself up, glancing at the insect companion nervously clinging on his arm and petting it to calm it down. He eyes Camilla who still has her hands raised, frozen in place as she eyes the head researcher petting the dragon.

A high-pitched coo steals all of their attention, desperate and reverbing against the cavern walls. The sound is melodic, almost song-like, and it makes both Sonia and Raihan perk up.

"Wha- Leon? Was that Leon?!" Sonia beams, trying to look around in hopes of pinpointing where exactly the voice is coming from but to no avail, the echoes bouncing off too much around the area. The researcher spots Raihan's ears tilting up and down before the dragon turns his head around, worriedly looking at the direction he came from. "You know where he is, Raihan?" The researcher asks, receiving a tilt of the head from the dragon, only for his head scales to immediately rise as a growl emanates from his throat, hunching low. Sonia turns to see the hunters frozen midstep to her, nervously glancing up at the dragon and back down the researcher.

The researcher clears her throat, frowning at the hunters as she pats Raihan's cheek. "This here is Raihan. The inland sea is part of his territory and he **_very_** **_kindly_** shared it with us so you better treat him with the utmost respect," Sonia huffs, receiving quiet nods. "I can't hear you."

"Y-yes ma'am."

"Y-y-yes!"

"Understood."

Sonia narrows her eyes at Camilla, the tallest hunter, before exhaling deep from her nose and turning to the dragon. "They're with me, Raihan," she tries to assure only for the dragon to tilt his head at her in question. Ah, this will be a recurring problem, huh. She'll have to study the surroundings more so that she can understand what kinds of communication habits Raihan picked up over the years in this environment so that they can understand him better.

Another call makes the dragon look up again, a series of growling and soft roars leaving him but unheard due to the much higher pitch of Leon's whistles and coos. The song-like sound the lionmaid emits makes some of the small creatures curiously peek out of their hiding spots, no doubt attracted to the melodic sirencall.

That's what Lionmaid's calls normally does anyway. Is that the case for Raihan too? Judging from his body language though, it's safe to assume that the two have already met again and wherever Leon is, he might be stuck.

"Raihan!" Sonia calls and catches the dragon's attention before pointing at herself. "Raihan. Would you... ' _fly'_ Sonia to Leon?" She tries, doing exaggerated movements with her arms to try and be understood. The dragon blinks before ducking down, easing Sonia up to ride on his head scales before spreading his wings and launching up, the researcher yelping as she clutches on the dragon's scales for dear life.

"M-miss Sonia!!" Sebastian picks up his insect glaive from the ground only for Camilla to block him with her arm.

"Don't. The dragon doesn't trust us. It will only be a problem if you try to follow and it ends up thinking that we're attacking," the tallest hunter explains, meeting eye contact with giant, sky-colored eyes before the reptile disappears into the path it came crawling out from, dangerous tail spikes fully jotting out and solid- one of the main conditions of a Sandtiger Dragon being ready to attack.

"But... What about Miss Sonia?"

"She'll be fine. It's us you should be more worried about," Aria sighs, standing up to eye the cave the dragon and the head researcher disappeared into. If Sebastian as much as tries to boost up to trail them, that thing can send an attack out that can coat and burst through the whole tunnel and burn the hunter down.

Sandtiger Dragons are incredibly aggressive from where they came from. They'll know if high-rank hunters are nearby the area and will not hesitate to charge them and get the first strike, making their territories absolutely off-limits to normal people, researchers and low-rank hunters.

"How do you think Miss Sonia got to have that one to follow what she says?" Aria ponders, looking at the other hunters only to receive shrugs.

"However she does it, that doesn't change the fact that this settlement's leader has a Sandtiger Dragon of all things under her wing. You saw her ride it just now, what more if she could actually order it to attack?" Camilla crosses her arms, unseeing of the forming frown on Sebastian's face.

The male hunter runs a hand on his nape before sighing. "Look, I know Miss Sonia's erratic and moody and all but I don't think she'll actually do such a..." Sebastian trails off upon being on the receiving end of Camilla's sharp eyes, the tall hunter leering at him.

"She threatened us just now. Holding mere _carving knives_. What more if she has a dragon?" Camilla steps closer and Sebastian stands his ground, feeling a tad bit small as the other hunter towers.

"Now, now, there's no use for infighting. Should we wait here for now or...?" Aria worriedly tilts her head to the side, receiving a pair of glances before the two other hunters glare back at each other as if sizing the other up.

"This is extremely vital information we just discovered. I'll go outside to get some distance and call a messenger bird so we can write a report to the chairman," Camilla straightens herself up before walking past Sebastian, their bumping soldiers almost pushing the smaller hunter down if not for Aria immediately grabbing his arm so he won't fall to the ground.

The smallest hunter straightens him up before patting his shoulder with a nod. "Let's just go," she says before trailing behind Camilla, most likely just wanting to get her hammer back.

"I'm waiting for Miss Sonia."

The statement makes Camilla stop, Aria almost bumping against her back. The tallest hunter turns her head to give Sebastian a frown, her brows furrowing before she lets out a sigh, shoulders drooping in defeat. "This is exactly why I didn't want you to join in this mission since the beginning. You get attached way too easily," she shakes her head as she makes her way to where they came in from.

Aria frowns before approaching, making Sebastian still before remembering that he has the bird whistle in his pocket. He fishes it out of his inventory before handing it over the small hunter along with the bag of food for the bird once she's close enough. "Just don't forget what we're here for," Aria hushes out before turning around and following Camilla, her armor clanking as she jogs to keep up the pace due to the other's much longer legs.

Sebastian purses his lips as the two other hunters walk away, watching them go deeper and deeper back to the tunnel they all went in from until they're out of sight. A squeeze around his ankles makes him jolt and look down, seeing the creature that tried to warn them about the dragon earlier. The tiny fellow pinches him to try and get his attention, beady black eyes looking up at him with a squeak.

"Ack- uh- hey there, little guy," he tries, using his glaive to poke the snail-crab-thing. The creature's slimy but pincer-like appendage reaches up and squeezes the tip of the rod, almost as if petting it as Sebastian blinks. "Huh, you're not too bad," he lets out as he squats down, the creature squeaking curiously as it starts to climb his insect glaive to reach him, making him jolt in surprise. "Wait, don't- ah, there's no forcefully letting you off, huh?" The hunter tries to pull the creature off of his weapon by the shell but realizes that its bottom is suctioned like a leech, giving up with a sigh.

Defeated, Sebastian lets the creature climb all the way to his arm, curiously trying to poke his insect companion. He looks around and notices that the earlier creatures are going back out of their hiding spots to give the surroundings more color, different hues mixing to look like coral reefs except outside of the water.

The hunter sits by a nearby rock and exhales deep, eyeing the cavern Sonia disappeared into as he waits.

  
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"Leon!" A familiar voice calls and makes the lionmaid look up, stilling in shock before beaming when he sees Raihan arrive with Sonia perched on top of his head, the dragon carefully climbing down the cavern walls so that the human wouldn't fall from her place.

The lionmaid coos back when Raihan reaches him, the dragon setting the human down beside the terrace where Leon is resting. The lionmaid leans down and closes his eyes, receiving a tiny pat on his forehead.

"Wha- Leon, you're still sick? You should be well by now," the researcher says, frowning as she strokes hot skin.

The lionmaid blinks. Now that he thinks about it, the doctor did say a certain span of time yesterday. He can't really remember it though, it was his first time being sick after all and it wasn't a very nice experience. His body was too hot and he felt dizzy and fuzzy all over- the only thing alleviating it is the temperature of his podmates' cooler skin.

Ah, speaking of cooler skin.

He eyes Raihan and purses his lips, pondering for a moment before steeling himself and bumping his forehead against the other's- or what there is in place of his forehead which are big headscales. Sonia gasps at the display, eyes widening.

"Raihan! That's- that's the lionmaid's way of giving **_great_** gratitude and they do it very rarely!! That's amazing!" Sonia exclaims.

The lionmaid purses his lips to stop a pout from forming. Well, it's true that that is the simplest way to explain it in words. Leon doesn't mind the extreme toning down of its meaning but the look on the dragon's face only tells them that he does not understand what just happened at all anyways.

Regardless, just like a young trying to learn something new, the lizard moves forward and copies it.

Leon gasps as he feels his cheeks slightly heat up before stilling and feeling guilty, disappointed with himself. He belatedly remembered that Raihan doesn't understand what the gesture means but his heart still betrays him and skips a beat.

He's heard stories of this from podmates that came and went along these years, decades and centuries. The feeling in your chest that tightens whenever you set eyes upon them, the beating of your heart threatening to leap out as if it's a seal on a sprint, and the feeling of wanting to just wrap your tails together and sink down to the depths in each other's arms. Hop even left the pod because of it, chasing after that red tropical lionmaid in the southern waters.

In a way, they already did the battle ritual. Raihan managed to break Leon's skin and challenge the lionmaid's toxin with his own so his body might have went ahead and thought that it's _finally_ happening to him. To be honest, Leon doesn't know what to do. He really only ever watched from afar and jumped in when someone looks like they're about to get seriously hurt, he never actually participated in the fighting ritual before. He doesn't know if this overwhelming feeling warming his chest is what comes after the fight.

He tries to recall everything that happened until the point when they embraced... and it felt amazing.

Leon went and showed off the extent of colors his fins are capable of displaying after that, to try and impress- show off how pretty his scales are. The humans love his scales, surely the dragon will too- is what he initially thought but Raihan replied with an otherworldly glow Leon's only seen in the tiny rocks with precious jewels in them... the closest thing he can probably compare it to would be the sight of lava peeking out from the cracks of the seafloor- if such a thing could even happen.

Everything he's done so far has been rivaled by Raihan and Leon's little lionmaid heart can't help but flutter.

But _no,_ the dragon doesn't know what they were doing when they did it. He's just copying what the lionmaid is doing and unknowingly sweeping him off his tail as he does it. How frustrating.

What's even more embarrassing is the way Leon felt the sparks running through his body when they... when they kissed and _embraced_ _._ And the dragon was almost completely still throughout the entirety of it! Leon didn't even know he was capable of experiencing such sensations. Is that how it really feels? How can everybody stay still and calm whenever they do it? Leon felt like all of his senses are being overloaded.

The dragon must've thought earlier that they've been in the same position for too long so he decided to break their connection and step back. Now that the lionmaid thinks about it, he probably doesn't even _feel_ it the way Leon does. Raihan doesn't have the lips to do the movements properly and he's dominating most of the what they're supposed to do together by putting the whole of that enormous tongue in.

Which felt _absolutely heavenly_ _-_ by the way- so Leon doesn't mind.

The memory makes him flush deeper and pull away a little bit, only to receive a look from Sonia's worried eyes. "Leon... how are you feeling? Are you really alright?"

Thank the oceans Leon is currently sick. If not, Sonia wouldn't have mistaken what the color of his cheeks meant at that moment.

The lionmaid hums and gently eyes Sonia to reassure her, the head researcher frowning a little bit due to not entirely believing him.

"Be honest with me, Leon. What if this is actually serious? Let me take a few samples of the water and stone in here then we'll go back to the settlement, okay? We can ask Raihan to carry you. Will you be alright with that?" Sonia asks and it makes Leon still. _Can_ Raihan carry him all the way back to the sea? Well, he _was_ able to bring him a couple meters in the air during their fight. What would being completely airborne even feel like?

A certain giddy feeling of excitement blooms in Leon's chest as he nods at Sonia happily. Flying! For such a big marine animal like him! What do you know!

The researcher fondly smiles at the lionmaid before motioning Raihan to help her up to the top of the terrace steps, bringing out a flask and some specimen bags as she carefully walks off to the warm pools of water steaming above.

_Hammerlocke Caverns_ | Area - ??

Leon coos, looking up at the dragon and frowning at their distance as he slaps his fins against the water to try and catch the other's attention, a loud series of _plap plap plap_ _s_ continuously breaking the pool's surface. He feels kind of bratty but...

_Ah, he doesn't have an excuse._

He wants Raihan to look at him. Even Leon can't believe what he himself is thinking right now. The thought _'Stop looking at Sonia! Look at me!'_ that's running on repeat in his head makes him feel really selfish because the human probably needs Raihan's watchful eye right now more than he does.

Despite this, something stirs in his gut the more he sees Raihan so far out of reach, a sad coo escaping his throat. Ah, how rotten- why is he even acting like such a spoiled youngling? He's an adult _and_ the leader of his pod for ocean's sake. What will his podmates even think of him if they see him so desperately vying for attention?

"Hold on. I'll try to make this faster, Leon," Sonia's voice answers, mistakenly thinking that the sound is for her.

Another sad coo escapes him and finally- _finally-_ it makes Raihan look down. Leon immediately perks up, eyes bright and beaming as the dragon eyes him and Sonia back and forth, most likely misinterpretating him. Feeling uncharacteristically impatient, Leon makes an attempt to climb up the steps, frowning as his webbed hands find trouble looking for proper purchase on the marble.

Raihan growls before climbing down with a huff to stop him, the lionmaid cooing in delight when the dragon wraps his waist with an arm only for him to pout when he finds himself being gently laid back down the shallow pool.

Irked, he splashes the dragon with water using his tail fins, laughing when the reptile gets drenched with a yip. Leon receives a grimace that quickly melts when the lionmaid innocently bats his eyes, only for the dragon to make a funny sound when a shot of water from Leon's joined hands hits him square in the face.

Raihan looks on incredulously as Leon laughs so much he falls backwards, rolling in the water with glee.

How odd, Leon thinks. Extremely odd and amazingly pleasant. To think that just closing their distance could bring him so much incomprehensible joy. Leon doesn't think his chest has ever felt this nice and light for... decades.

Somehow, he finds himself understanding why Hop left them all those years ago.

"Huh. You've become quite close," Sonia comments from above, peering at the two giant creatures frolicking in the shallow pool. The dragon's sitting in the water, dripping wet all over as Leon waves his tail around happily.

Interesting. Sonia doesn't think she's ever seen Leon look so... giddy before. He looks like a cat who's high on catnip.

Is there something up with the cavern water or is this really just a natural thing that occured? Considering they are both at the top of their respective food chains and are highly territorial in nature, to think they'll be able to befriend each other is... almost a miracle. No one would have forseen this coming. Their body languages are entirely different along with their ways of communicating vocally so they most likely don't understand each other and yet, still, Leon looks the most comfortable he's ever been, splayed out with his defenses wide open. He looks so...

Happy. Just happy. Pure unadulterated joy.

Sonia's never seen Leon in such a way. He's the leader of the pod who simply watched in the distance, always alert and ready. Seeing his guard down like this in-front of someone who can rival him in strength, completely trusting the other not to attack, is a very interesting sight.

And ridiculous, to be honest. He's too damn happy. _Is he high?_

Leon wraps Raihan's arm with a coo, rubbing his cheek on the dragon's shoulder. A soft hum leaves the lionmaid as he presses his torso against Raihan's arm, gills winking as he tries to rub them against the expanse of the other's neck... which is weird because lionmaids only do that when-

_W_ a _it-_

"Woah! Woah! Woah!! Leon, that's not right!! Don't do that! Leon, stop this instant!" Sonia shouts from where she's standing, face pale. The lionmaid pouts once he realizes that his gill rubbing is not doing anything. Sonia slaps her hand against her face. Of course it won't, what he's trying to do only works underwater. The enzyme that will normally release there to warn other lionmaids that whatever he rubbed on is his possession or territory wouldn't release out of the water.

He's trying to put the enzyme on Raihan- another living creature- for some sort of reason. What does he think the dragon is, an oversized teddy bear he can readily play with?

"Quit it, Leon! It won't work! And Raihan's alive, you can't just mark him as yours like that! That is very rude," the researcher huffs and all she gets is a _slightly_ apologetic coo. _Slightly_ apologetic. Mostly just sad that he can't do it, really.

Arms wrap around Raihan's shoulders and the dragon, surprisingly, allows the hug. For a Sandtiger Dragon, Raihan seems to be _incredibly_ patient. She should probably jot that down and compare the data later. "Raihan. Can you take Leon and Sonia home?" The researcher asks.

Raihan looks up at her and lets a growl resound from his throat before climbing up the steps with Leon in tow, the lionmaid using his tail to coil around the other almost like a snake. The researcher carefully settles herself on Raihan's headscales before giving her affirmative.

Surprisingly, the dragon dips down to wet Leon again before taking off. He seems to understand that the lionmaid actually needs the water. Did he know this information before or was it just newly learned? Perhaps when Leon got lost and they met again?

Sonia really needs to interview Leon after this.

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What a very bad way to know that Leon doesn't like being flown long distances.

Said Lionmaid is now resting deep under the water after getting almost dried from the flight. He constricted the dragon so much it's almost a miracle they even reached the Inland Sea Settlement. The flight was filled with high-pitched cries of both fear and pain from the Lionmaid, his body not being streamlined to take the barrage of wind he took. Sebastian was worried the whole way, asking Sonia if everything's going to be okay at least once every two minutes. Very loudly. He was screaming, actually. While talking to Sonia who was literally beside her.

Ah, speaking of Sebastian, they picked him up along the way as he was waiting in the cavern alone, saying something about the others checking the perimeter just in case. The hunter ended up placed beside Sonia and proceeded to hold on for dear life, almost similar to how Leon's holding on except the lionmaid is far much stronger and almost dangerously suffocating their ride.

Pretty much everybody involved was completely exhausted. The Sandtiger Dragon himself is currently quietly napping under the shade of a rock formation on a nearby shore and Sebastian's knocked out on a log bench, a researcher carefully trying to remove a document from under his head without waking him up desperately gritting her teeth.

"Extreme patience, allowing skin-to-skin contact... steam?" Piña reads off the notes Sonia wrote about Raihan, scanning the scattered papers on a research table and comparing the data with other ones in different regions. "I can understand the steam since there's seawater in his den but the others..."

Sonia approaches her and looks over the papers herself with a frown. "Right? All hunted and captured species of Sandtiger Dragons are written to be extremely vicious and aggressive in hunter reports... and yet, there he is," the head researcher points at the dragon currently resting in a shade, one eye cracked open to watch a sealmaid poking at his tail as he ignores a pair of researchers trying to estimate his length with labeled ropes.

"How can this happen?" Piña wonders aloud, resting a hand under her chin. "Usually, when dragons lack communication with others of their own for extended periods of time- especially one as big as this- they tend to default with aggression. Sandtiger Dragons are highly territorial too so other creatures would have left his den alone, leaving him in solitude. How is he this friendly?"

The two researchers purse their lips as they look at each other, frowning. A sound catches their attention and they both turn to look as Raihan stretches, the dragon yawning as he looks down the pair of celebrating researchers beside him as they line up the rope to finally get the dragon's exact length.

"More research to be done then," Sonia just fondly huffs as she motions someone to hand her tools, immediately looking for a place to sit and sketch the rare dragon's form.

"...More research to be done," Piña echoes as she watches a still groggy Leon peek out of the water to stare at Raihan, the dragon tilting his head to the side as the lionmaid copies him and tilts his head too.

The researcher narrows her eyes and whips out her earlier notes, skimming all the data she has written before stopping on a wall of information she jot down during their first day. _"No way,"_ she hushes to herself and Sonia looks up, raising an eyebrow.

"What is it? Did you find something?" She asks, making Piña jolt. The researcher opens her mouth before closing it again, eyes darting along different pages of papers, documents both old and new.

She looks at Sonia before pursing her lips and shaking her head, frowning at herself. "It's... nothing. I might just be mistaking something. I don't want to inform you of anything baseless so I'll have to reread some data. Did we bring all the writings about the Lionmaid's here?" She asks, expression getting wilder and wilder the more she rereads the data Sonia got from her earlier search for Leon.

"Oh, yes, the other researchers grouped them all by section in the tents. You can find them there," the head researcher receives a fast nod as her assistant immediately turns to speedwalk towards said tents, eyes darting everywhere in mildly veiled anxiety.

Sonia frowns as she watches Piña's retreating form before shrugging and going back to her task. Eyeing how Leon practically goes back to sleep with his head resting on his arms on the sand.

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Inland Sea Settlement Size Chart

_1 square = 1 square meter_

Current recorded sizes:

  * Raihan ( _desert_ ) - 17.3 meters
  * Leon ( _open sea)_ \- 27.8 meters
  * Nessa ( _open sea_ ) - 2.23 meters
  * Sealmaid Mother ( _arctic_ ) - 6.3 meters
  * Sealmaid Brother ( _arctic_ ) - 6.1 meters



_~~Researcher's~~ Hunter's Note:_

_They said to say anything but I don't think I can inform anyone of anything interesting at the moment so I'll keep my entry brief. I don't know why I need to do this when there's other people around though._

_I think it's quite impressive how the Inland Sea can handle creatures with very diverse ecologies. Once Nessa awakes, no doubt the researchers would also be able to map the waters too. For now, my hunters would take care of the ones on land._

_By the way, I think the Sealmaid mother has been asking me if it's alright for them to go and hunt in the arctic waters? Maybe the prey in the inland sea doesn't suit their taste. I'm afraid I don't know how to reply to her so please tell one of the researchers to inform her that her family can come and go whe_ _never_ _she likes._

**_P.S_ ** _. Researchers, please don't carelessly put coffee mugs everywhere. They're staining the documents._

_-Hunter Captain Kabu_

**_[R_** ** _E_** ** _:_** ** _P.S._** _Researchers, please don't..._ ** _]_**

_The mug stains on this one's from the head researcher. Nevertheless, I'll inform everybody about your input. There's no taking the stains out, I'm afraid._

_-_ _Researcher Piña, Sonia's Assistant_

**_[RE:RE: P.S._ ** _Researchers, please don't..._ **_]_ **

_Why is Sonia drinking from two differently sized mugs?_

_-Flora Researcher Milo_

**_[RE:RE:RE: P.S._ ** _Researchers, please don't..._ **_]_ **

_She was painting and_ _she didn't notice which mug she was taking. Only one of those mugs has coffee in it._

_-Researcher Piña, Sonia's Assistant_

**_[RE:RE:RE:RE: P.S._ ** _Researchers, please don't..._ **_]_ **

_Alright! Let's not use the notes for chatting since they're also documents! Thank you very much!_

_-Head Researcher Sonia_

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The size chart is HD! It's pretty big so you can zoom in if you'd like to see the details and such!!
> 
> If the image isn't working then you can see it [here](https://i.imgur.com/grzzzid.jpg)!
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> 🌊🌊🌊
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> 
> 
> Also, here's the 'springs' without the steam! I just think it looks nice ^^ 


	5. Call My Name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _'Should I still continue? Is this worth it? Can you tell me, please?'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanna tell you all that the Monster Hunter concept is prevalent through this chapter lol 
> 
> you don't have to know anything about the game to understand since the stuff gets explained though ^^ i hope that's alright

Raihan's kind.

Very kind.

He stays around in the morning instead of going back to his den just so Leon could constantly see him. He'll leave in the afternoon- probably to hunt for something to eat- before coming back again so that Leon can play around with him after watching over his own smaller podmates hunt food for themselves. He'll pretend to sleep by the shore once the sun sets but once everyone is asleep, he'll set off quietly to go back to his den only to come back to the settlement before the sun rises again.

Leon doesn't know why the dragon does it but, nevertheless, his heart flutters.

The lionmaid knows that the pod has most likely noticed how his demeanor has changed in the past few days too. Thankfully, none of them has actually spoken up about it- even respectfully turning away and minding their own business whenever Leon tends to do something uncharacteristically immature- like splashing the dragon with water or making a makeshift water gun with his palms to drench the other- just making fun of Raihan all the time, pretty much.

The playfulness sometimes gets mistaken by the humans as a challenge though, causing them to scold Leon sometimes with warnings about not testing a Sandtiger Dragon's patience. The lionmaid doesn't mind what they think, Raihan doesn't really get angry at him and that's the only thing he cares about.

Other than the one-sided games, Leon laughs and purposefully sings a lot more too- realizing that the dragon tends to stay and not run away after the Lionmaid makes fun of him whenever he does so.

Sadly, his insanely erratic demeanor has caused the dragon to stay a safe distance away from the water, most likely wary of the inland sea's depths. Leon thinks that it's for the best, what with a weird instinct inside of him telling him to drag Raihan into the bottom and keep him there. He ignores the thoughts and just smiles as he half-drapes his torso on the wet shore, hoping that no one can see the longing in his eyes as Raihan lies a few meters away on the dry sand. Curious teal eyes roam as the dragon watches the busy humans run around before landing on the lionmaid's golden ones, causing the merman to freeze upon getting caught.

Raihan blinks before fixing his position, replying to him with a similar stare. Leon opens his mouth to say something but closes it soundlessly instead, remembering that there are merpeople around that will absolutely understand what he wants to tell the dragon in-front of him.

Figuring that the lionmaid's finished with his games, the dragon stands up on fours and proceeds to extend his arms forward in the sand, bones popping as he stretches like a cat. Leon intently watches lean muscles contract and flex under orange, aquamarine and burgundy scales, not even trying to hide his gaze.

Wow, he really hopes no one's watching him thirst while still being half-submerged in water. That would be embarrassing.

Raihan spreads his wings and, with a single powerful gust, sends himself up in the air, flying off as Leon watches. Instead of flying inland however, Raihan stays nearby the shore, eyes set down as his sight roams the sand with hawk-like sharpness. Leon looks around to check if he is still needed before curiously setting off to swim after him.

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_Elysia_ _Neopteron(?) Parapaguridae_ | Hammerlocke Mocksnail

_Researcher's Notes:_

_A Neopteron is an insectoid creature known for their hard, rigid carapaces- carved materials from them are used to make very sharp weapons. They range in various sizes and some can even fly. While they are weak against fire and poison, they are incredibly resistant against dragons- which is probably why most of the roaming critters in Raihan's den are Neopterons._

_With that said... Is Sliggoo a Neopteron?_

_"What is_ _**that?!"** _ _Practically the whole settlement heard the first researcher half-scream in shock and awe upon setting eyes on this new creature found roaming around the tents. We found out later through Head Researcher Sonia that it is a native from Raihan's cave, a rare creature that might only exist in the inland sea._

_Despite its whole body being soft and slug-like, it can weirdly harden specific parts of itself in-case it needs to and immediately turns insectoid if it needs to be faster._

_A soft body wouldn't have been able to survive the onslaught of wind pressure during Raihan's flight so it might be safe to assume that it hardened its body and held on. Despite this, it looks for a container, a shell, and even burrows inside a rock before nestling itself inside its safety to sleep._

_The researchers have decided to call it the Hammerlocke Mocksnail due to it being absolutely not a snail despite looking like one and anatomy almost functioning like one. Its shell is slightly hard and slimey most of the time but can be hardened even further on command- and softened too, which is what it probably does before sleeping. Seriously, what an odd creature. Despite being soft-bodied, we had to put Neopteron in its name because it does have the same qualities the creatures have- except it can turn said features off._

_I hope some of us could be allowed to go to the Hammerlocke Caverns so we can research the other creatures there more. Who knows, there must be a ton more to discover!_

_-Endemic Life Researcher_

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"Now, now, don't go there- those are important," a researcher lifts Sliggoo away from a table covered in documents. Sebastian jolts as it is promptly deposited on his lap, the creature looking up at him in curiosity as he scoops some algae out of a barrel.

"So that befalls on you, huh," Aria peers over the other hunter's shoulder with a slight wince, watching the goo of the creature's bottom dampen Sebastian's lap as it tries to climb up the hunter's arm to get to the algae faster. What kind of name is Sliggoo anyways? Which researcher coined that?

Sebastian shrugs, eyeing the creature. "To be honest, no one noticed that it went on Raihan's back with us. We were all just surprised to find it roaming around."

"Heard from one of the researchers that you were screaming like a newborn when you arrived," Camilla snickers as she lifts a log over her shoulder, careful of the growing mushrooms atop it as she is led by a flora researcher to the on-construction greenhouse.

Sebastian sputters as he flushes, jolting when the mocksnail jumps into the container. "Ooh," Aria practically almost dips her face in the water as she watches the mocksnail satisfyingly clean the barrel's insides, leaving spotless wood in its wake. "You must've been so hungry, huh," she awws as Sebastian holds her forehead to stop her from dipping into the water, making a face.

It's been around a week since they've settled in the Inland Sea and the place is finally starting to take shape. The volcanic hunters haven't gone to the Seaside Settlement before but, judging from how efficient everybody has been working, they could only imagine that it must have been truly splendid.

"Aria, if you're not busy, please take this to Nessa's tent," a newly arrived hunter calls and deposits a container of fresh fish in-front of the two volcanic settlement hunters before turning around and jogging back to where he came from.

Sebastian's jaw hangs open as he gapes at the returned group's captured monsters, forcefully stopping his legs from running forward to help when the Sealmaids jump on the sand in an attempt to get to it. Kabu lifts his hands to stop them and the Sealmaids immediately behave, the hunter captain shouting something about sharing with everybody.

Aria whistles at the display before picking up the container of fish. "I'll take these to Nessa," she informs the other hunter before walking off. Sebastian watches her beeline to the tent before stopping and getting distracted by something else, stilling as she watches some researchers in the process of making a miniature landscape of the maps of the Inland Sea. Sebastian whistles and Aria jolts, immediately fastwalking to the torpedo mermaid's tent.

_Torpedo Mermaid_ , huh.

Sebastian and the other Volcanic Hunters were appalled when Milo told them about Nessa's characteristics after they asked him out of curiosity. 90 kilometers per hour is an insane speed- their locally made torpedos in the volcanic settlement can only reach up to 60 except that they're only tested in artificial environments where there is minimal wave resistance.

To think that living creatures that are so sturdy they can make holes in ships and destroy rock formations while swimming non-stop exist- they're practically oversized bullets, aren't they?

Not to mention one that can talk...

Nessa woke up around a couple days ago and the volcanic hunters were absolutely shocked upon the discovery of a mermaid who is capable of human speech. She curses like a sailor, yes, but the fact skimmed over their heads while they were still mostly in awe of the feat as they listened to her narration of the spill.

Basically, due to the strong earthquake that occurred, ancient oil reserves that run along a trench in the south western sea were destroyed, causing the thick liquid to escape the ducts and rise up to the surface in enormous quantities. Such a thing has never been heard of before, for all they know. The text from ancient civilizations that the researchers read only informed them about spills from the surface, fallen from cargo ships that ancient humans once used to carry oil across the sea.

Along the old texts were ways to help reduce the oil spill but, with the technology the Settlement has, they seem impossible to achieve. The best they could do now is simply to wait and let nature herself heal but it will no doubt take months- maybe even years- and the place will never be the same again.

Despite insisting that she can swim already though, the resident doctors still did not allow Nessa to go back to the sea right away, opting to keep her in one of the tents until her body fully heals.

"Camil- wait, where's Camilla?" One of the researchers looks around, looking for the tall hunter.

Sebastian straightens up and catches his attention, depositing the barrel of algae along with the mocksnail to the side. "She's helping the flora researchers set up the greenhouse," he speaks up and receives a wince.

"Ah, we need her longsword skill to help cut some of the meat. Can you call her for me?" He asks and Sebastian nods before he immediately walks off to the construction's direction, letting out a loud whistle. A few seconds is all it takes for an answering whistle to call back.

"She'll be here in a few!" Sebastian tells the hunter and receives an impressed raise of eyebrows before he moves to go back to the barrel he left the snail creature in. He halts in his steps when Piña suddenly walks in-front of him and almost barrels through in a daze, causing him to reflexively catch the fallen coiled scrolls and stacked documents from the mess in her arms.

"Ack- ah, thanks-" Piña apologetically hisses before attempting to fix everything in her arms but to no avail.

"Need help?" Sebastian asks and receives a desperately hushed _'yes please'_ before the researcher proceeds on continuing her journey to her quarters in one of the few fully finished buildings in the settlement. "You've been running around all over the place these past few days," Sebastian hums in thought only to raise his eyebrow when Piña suddenly calls for Sonia, motioning the head researcher something as they continue on their way.

Sonia blinks before putting down the maps she's working on with the other hunters, telling them to have a break. The head researcher calls for Kabu to come with her before jogging to keep up with the speedwalking Piña, causing Sebastian to purse his lips a little from nervousness.

What's suddenly warranting the presence of such important people in a meeting?

Once they arrive in Piña's messy quarters- _seriously, there's papers and books everywhere save for the couch where she most likely sleeps in_ \- Sebastian deposits the documents on the table that the researcher cleared before turning to leave. "Wait- no, stay here," Piña stops him and he freezes for a beat before sheepishly walking to the side and standing in attention.

They watch as Sonia shuffles in along with Kabu right after, the hunter captain locking the door behind him before stopping. "Ah, is this meeting confidential or should I unlock?" he asks and receives a heavy sigh from Piña whose shoulders sag as she rests her hands on the table.

"Keep the door locked please. Whatever information is going out of these documents today, I wouldn't want to go out just yet," she hushes out, causing the other three's eyes to widen as they look at each other, baffled.

Sonia steps forward with a frown. "Is this about... Raihan?" The head researcher asks and receives a gravely serious look from her assistant. Kabu and Sebastian glance at each other in surprise.

"I did say I was going to research about him- although, initially, I was simply doing so to understand his current relationship with Leon and determine whether a certain theory I have in mind is true or false," she sighs, taking several marked papers from the pile before turning them around and presenting them to Sonia. "Of course, before I could as much as try to read what's happening between them, I have to truly understand what the both of them are first."

"As far as we know, Raihan is the very first dragon-hybrid we have ever seen, the closest one being _'Sabrina'_ from the misty mountains far in the old world first officially documented around five hundred years ago," the assistant taps on a sketch of Sabrina on a document. Her body- lower half being that of a snake- coils around the summit of a mountain as she dwarfs a hunter, looking absolutely regal and downright horrifying. The artwork makes it look as if an anaconda is looking down a firefly, that's how enormous the snake woman is.

Sonia narrows her eyes as she skims through the paper, already knowing of the creature but still checking just in-case. "She's classified as an Elder Dragon, right?" She clarifies and receives a stern nod.

Kabu glances to the side and sees Sebastian mouth the word 'Elder Dragon', watching the young man's shoulders rise in anxiety. As if sensing the tension, Piña looks up. "Have you fought an Elder Dragon before, Sebastian?" The assistant asks, causing Sonia to look back at him too.

With all eyes in the room pointed at him, Sebastian nervously gulps before shaking his head. "No ma'am- but Aria has. Among the three of us from the Volcanic Settlement, she's the one with the highest rank."

The answer causes the three other people in the room to look at him in bewilderment, eyes almost like plates from how wide they are. "Wait- Aria? Really?" Sonia asks in disbelief.

Kabu recovers first and purses his lips before just shrugging. "Well, I don't doubt her abilities and all but... she just seems so airheaded," the hunter captain says with a wince and receives a soft laugh.

"Yeah, she does tend to be airheaded when it comes to normal stuff and is panicky and ditsy at times but when it comes to the usual hunting, she's almost like a different person. She was one of the hunters in the new world who helped repel Zorah Magdaros and she has also defeated a Behemoth. She's very strong despite what she looks like," Sebastian assures as the rest of them nods. The way he worded it makes it hard to know if he's actually praising the small hunter or not though.

"So she helped repell the Zorah Magdaros from the new world... ... Huh, I remember still studying under Grandmother when that happened. How old is Aria again?" the head researcher asks only to receive a slight wince from Sebastian as he purses his lips, shrugging.

"She won't tell us." Understandable.

"I see. And Sir Kabu, how about you?" Piña turns to the hunter captain and receives a tilt of the head.

"I've seen a Kirin before but never engaged it, just watched it from a safe distance," he says. Said unicorn-like Elder Dragon is peaceful and passive anyways, unlike the Zorah Magdaros which is a literal walking volcano and the Behemoth- which he's heard is a jacked otherworldly creature that can call tornadoes and has absolutely no mercy.

"What's this sudden talk about Elder Dragons? And what does it have to do with Raihan?" Sonia turns and taps the edge of the document with a finger, eyes skimming the other papers.

Piña straightens up and hums. "I just wanted to check if the others properly know about what Elder Dragons are like. These creatures are living forces of nature- mostly roaming the world since ancient times and even worshipped as Gods in some areas. They aren't just mere animals, they're disasters and cataclysms given physical form. A Kirin can summon pure lightning should it feel like it needs to. An Amatsumagatsuchi lives on top of a holy mountain, causing the place to have an eternal storm for centuries. These beings aren't to be taken lightly."

"Elder Dragons from the New World, unlike those from the Old World, won't attack unless aggravated," Sonia reads off a passage on one of the documents and receives a nod from Piña.

"There's something about the New World that makes them peaceful unlike their Old World counterparts. Velkhana, an elder dragon from its frozen regions, can conjure massive spikes of ice out of nowhere when provoked- but stays calm and regal otherwise. It even has photos taken by a camera and such a device is typically handled with the utmost care," the assistant researcher shows finely sealed prints of said pictures as the other three lean in to look at them.

"This is a... _photo_? Never seen one before. Very colorful," Kabu muses to himself as Sebastian and Sonia whip around to look at him in shock.

"I ought to borrow a camera from the Lynians to show you how they're made then," Sebastian offers and receives a soft laugh from Kabu, followed with an excited "You have Lynian friends?! Yes! Yes! We can welcome some of them here!" from Sonia.

Piña clears her throat to catch everybody's attention again, causing the rest of the bunch to stand alert, sheepish.

"Like it's written there, Elder Dragons have _usually_ lived since ancient times. From what we know from Miss Sonia, she stole Raihan from a marketplace when he was a baby and then set him free-" Piña starts, pushing forward a few documents to show the others. "The size she described him to be... doesn't reflect an actual baby Sandtiger Dragon's size. Sandtiger Dragon offsprings, when newly hatched from the egg, are around as big as the baby Sealmaids we have here. Raihan, however, was much closer to the size of an actual human infant." 

Sonia frowns at that, spreading the documents and scanning them. "How do you know how big Sandtiger Dragon infants are? We don't have much data about them, right?" The head researcher asks and receives a proud huff from Piña, the assistant grinning wide.

"Aria told me."

Sonia gasps and Sebastian works hard to make sure that his face doesn't look weird. What exactly did Aria spill? Camilla's going to be pissed.

"The only reason we don't have much data about Sandtiger dragons is because they are rare in the parts around us, mainly the Seaside Settlement and this new Inland Sea Settlement. I told Aria about the marketplace story when I asked her to accompany me to gather materials from the nearby caves and she must have been too focused on hitting the rocks with her pickaxe because she told me a lot!" Piña puffs her chest out proudly as Sonia proudly claps. "Volcanic Sandtiger Dragons roam around their area and, most of the time, you'll know they're there because they'll usually roar and immediately fly to a hunter party's presence. They are incredibly strong and aggressive which is why a Low-Rank hunter can only enter if they have a few High-Rank hunters in their party. Have you seen them in person, Sebastian?"

Sebastian jolts when the attention shifts to him again and he shakes his head. "I'm not High-Rank but I'm not low-rank either so I've been allowed to go there in exhibition missions with Aria several times. Camilla and Aria can both go there even when alone but..." he stops, pondering if he should say what he actually thinks. He steels himself before spilling anyways. "I've never gone there with Camilla. She tends to be aggro greedy."

Sonia lifts an eyebrow as she steals a glance at Piña. Kabu hums in thought as he nods to himself. "I'm not surprised. She does seem to be the type."

"Wait, wait- what does that mean? I've never heard of the term _aggro greedy_ before," the head researcher asks.

Kabu turns to her, waving his hands around as he explains. "Aggro is short for aggression. If one is aggro greedy, it means that they tend to take the foe's attention and will almost always be the one to be the focus of the creature's attacks."

Sonia _ooh's_ in understanding as Piña crosses her arms with a nod. "Yes, Aria did say something like that. Some armour and weapons can instantly turn creatures' aggression on a specific hunter too but, in a way, being aggro greedy can also be an acquired skill. It depends on the person but if you're too focused on a certain goal- killing a monster perhaps- some creatures can feel the bloodlust and, in turn, react poorly to your presence."

Three sets of eyes turn to Piña as her gaze becomes resolute. "I don't know if anyone else has noticed but in the past few expeditions I've pulled her to, I've found that Aria quiets down and scans her surroundings. A lot. She can easily sneak around creatures without them noticing to pluck a specimen nearby and can manage to move in a territory without aggravating the creatures there. She told me that she'd done this a lot too in the past whenever she bypassed Sandtiger Dragon territories to write findings herself because bringing a panicky researcher inside a dragon's den will only result to chaos."

"And that's when she saw an infant Sandtiger Dragon," Sonia hushes to herself and receives a nod. "Wait- then, since they have Sandtiger Dragons nearby, there should be more data about them in the books now, right?" The head researcher frowns and Sebastian purses his lips while watching Piña narrow her eyes.

"The Volcanic Settlement keeps all of their acquired data to themselves. Aria said that the weapon and equipment she's currently using are ranks down what her usual garbs are because she _'is not allowed'_ to bring her normal set here. I would've loved to hear more about it but she noticed what she was saying after that and promptly changed the subject. I couldn't push and get more information from her lest she finds me suspicious," Piña shrugs before bringing out a hastily written document, tapping on some passages. "I wrote down some of the data she told me about the Sandtiger Dragons in the Volcanic Settlement after we came back from our expedition yesterday. They're far updated compared to the data we currently have. There's even materials, strengths, and weaknesses since they hunt them there," the assistant sighs as she rests her hands on her waist. "Aria seemed to have some sort of sad, worried tone in her voice, though. Isn't that odd?"

Sonia shrugs. "Well, it's been around a week. Maybe she didn't expect to be sent here so suddenly and is already missing home?" The head researcher's shoulders rise when a finger is suddenly pointed towards her.

"Right?! Exactly!" Piña points at the bewildered head researcher as Kabu steps forward and finally speaks up.

"But they weren't 'sent' here. They ran off themselves and went here without orders in order to help our settlement," the head hunter says before turning to Sebastian who immediately nods.

"Point sustained! Aria is worried about the creatures back home already, why would she leave instead of watching over them too? And take a good look at the way Camilla carries herself and tell me if that's the type of hunter to go off on her own to simply 'help' without orders," Piña huffs and crosses her arms only for Sonia to intervene.

"Now, now. Don't be like that. Camilla's just a traditional hunter through and through, that's all. You know, kind of like Sen? She'll get used to being around the creatures after a while, give her a chance," the head researcher gives Piña a disapproving look. Sebastian raises an eyebrow upon hearing a name he's unfamiliar with only to jolt when his name is suddenly mentioned. "Besides, Sebastian's here right in-front of you, be a little more thoughtful of your words."

Sebastian's shoulders rise, ready to tell her that it's okay, but he ends up getting cut off by Piña. "Sebastian's different! He's an alright guy! I don't doubt he actually came here to help us but Camilla's-"

The assistant researcher stops upon receiving another pointed look from Sonia, the head researcher shaking her head with a sigh as she motions her hand to make the other researcher continue. "Let's just get back to the earlier topic. Are you doubting that Raihan's a Sandtiger Dragon?"

Piña purses her lips before turning some documents. "I do not doubt it but... something is definitely up. A dragon-hybrid has never been officially recorded before unlike the merfolk, harpies, and centaurs that have been around basically our entire lives. You did say before that he survived all by himself, right? For such a tiny creature to live all on his own, much less an infant, is practically unthinkable. Some dragons pick up other similar baby dragons when their mother is nowhere to be found- there must be something that taught Raihan everything he knows. The question is: what is it and where is it now?"

The assistant researcher suddenly ducks down to fish out some samples of desert rocks. "Raihan's odd coloration is most likely due to eating the ores around him. That's our first clue. Sandtiger Dragons are carnivores so he wouldn't have even thought about it without anyone showing or teaching him. The water you took from the thermal pools in his den has a high amount of chemicals too, similar to natural toxins."

"Which is how he got to poison Leon," Sonia hushes out, resting her fingers under her chin in realization. "His body adapted to his chosen den."

"Yes. I got from Aria that Sandtiger Dragon sacks can only carry one thing depending on the subspecie- for example, the finned ones in the volcanic area store magma for attacking while those in the desert are different. The larger females store water for drinking while the smaller males store sand for bursts of offense. She's seen a winged one once but she drove it away from the area since it's rare and decided to omit it from her report," Piña explains as Sebastian's mind reels. He never knew that Aria kept secrets like that... and didn't know that said secrets can so easily spill out if she gets comfortable and distracted.

Kabu suddenly speaks up. "But why were you asking us earlier about Elder Dragons? Is there a connection between Raihan and one? Did you discover an Elder Dragon den nearby that might be hazardous to us?" The hunter captain crosses his arms with a frown before receiving the paper that Piña wrote on the information Aria accidentally spilled.

"That's the reason why I've asked you all to come here! I recently realized that..."

  
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🌊🌊🔸🔶🔶🔶🔶🔶🔶🔶🔸

The feeling of ores crumbling between his teeth used to be unpleasant for Raihan but, over time, they only helped in strengthening his jaws and hardening his scales. His teeth used to fall off when he was a child but they always grew back much stronger everytime.

Now, the ores have become kind of like a snack to him. What used to be tasteless piles of rock back when he was young slowly gained flavor until he can now differentiate normal ores from the tastiest ones through sight.

A cooing sound catches his attention and he turns away from the mountainside he's chewing on only to see Leon staring at him from the bottom, his body fully draped on the shore as he curiously looks up at what Raihan is doing.

Raihan narrows his eyes as Leon languidly swishes his tail about. He's not dumb enough to try to climb the mountain, right?

Figuring that the other wants him down, he rips off a big chunk of rock and deposits it right in-front of Leon, receiving a jolt from the manfish. Raihan lands on the plush sand and resumes eating, teeth gnawing normal rock off of the mineral deposits he wants to reach as Leon curiously watches.

Another coo calls Raihan's attention, his teal eyes looking to the side as Leon tilts his head almost as if asking a question.

He growls low in reply but receives another coo again, this time much louder with a little whistle in the end.

A series of calls and whistles leave the other as Raihan resumes eating. Ever since he returned the oversized fish to the sea, he's stopped trying to talk to Raihan save for the songs he's been singing but now, he's at it again. Does he not want the others of his kind to know that he's been trying to talk to him?

The dragon can't help but feel envious, actually, since the other fishes like Leon can talk and whistle to each other without a problem while his growls are stuck unheard by almost everybody.

_'_ _What?'_ Raihan growls to try to communicate but, as if proving his point, a higher-pitched whistle from Leon overpowers his.

Raihan has been trying to talk to him these past few days but to no avail. Leon doesn't seem to notice it either and the fish just continues drenching him with water as he plays around. He can't even think of leaving him for a long period of time because, whenever Leon thinks he's not looking, those big, golden eyes gaze at him as if asking him to stay.

The den is empty and quiet so Raihan doesn't mind the company except he can't help but feel his back scales rise whenever Leon stares him up and down in a trance. He feels like a crocodile waiting for the right time to strike and drag prey under the water to feast on.

From what little time he's been with Leon- despite the fish being glued to him for hours- he doesn't seem to know enough to find out if that's what the manfish is really thinking of doing or not.

A softer coo, one Raihan's associated to giving up, leaves the merman as he looks on sadly, lips pursed as his brows tilt up in a frown. Raihan blinks as he fully turns to him, wondering what happened to make him let out such a sound. Why is he sad? Is something bothering him?

The dragon's at least quite thankful that Leon seems to act absolutely transparent around him. Watching the humans go about with their lives and interact with one another has helped him a lot when it comes to trying to understand the lionmaid's body language.

Leon moves forward to press his forehead against Raihan's shoulder, weakly pushing against the other with a low sound before pulling back, staring at him with watery, golden eyes. The feeling of gut-wrenching sadness emanates from the merman, making Raihan growl low in concern, voice unheard.

He has a lot of family in the sea that he can talk to, why is he so desperate to try and talk to _him_ of all creatures? Even Sonia herself can talk to the fish even though the way they speak is entirely different. Why does he try to talk to a dragon who doesn't understand him when he is in need of someone to lift his spirits up?

Leon sighs and moves forward to lean himself against Raihan's shoulder, making the dragon still. A soft coo leaves him as he looks back at the water wistfully, the quiet overtaking their surroundings save for the sound of the waves crashing against the shore.

Something about the stillness seems... different. Leon somehow feels faraway despite physically being... there.

Raihan can feel every little thing the fishman's body against his side does- from the shallow breathing, the slight pushing of cheek against his scales, to the reflexive moving of fins. Leon adjusts his position so his head is fully leaning against Raihan's shoulder, making the dragon notice the fingers drawing circles along his scaled arm.

He growls, asking what's the matter, and the lionmaid jolts and leans back, eyes wide. Raihan growls again and watches as Leon's face slowly turns to that of a panicked, concerned frown, eyes searching his. The expression doesn't seem good, the fish must be misunderstanding something.

An idea pops up in the dragon's head and he reaches forward to take Leon's webbed hand in his talons, careful of his claws as he guides the hand towards the side of his throat.

_'Leon,_ _'_ he growls, copying the way Sonia calls the name in his own way.

Leon blinks, eyes widening in curiosity as he reaches up to touch the other side of Raihan's neck, trying to feel more of the vibrations. Raihan focuses harder, emphasizing the two syllables in his growls, the first one higher than the other. As if understanding, the lionmaid gasps, beaming wide as he nods and throws himself forward, wrapping his arms around the dragon's neck as he calls in reply.

Two melodic syllables, the second one longer than the other.

It's his own way of saying _'Raihan'-_ and he makes a point of happily repeating it over and over again in different pitches. The dragon replies with the other's name again, a low rumbling that the lionmaid feels through the vibrations against the arms coiled around his neck. Leon happily nods and whistles as he presses himself more against the other, burying his face against the dragon's jaw.

Raihan repeats it again and again, relishing in the sound of happiness leaving the lionmaid. The feeling of finally being able to show him that this is how he communicates makes satisfaction bloom in Raihan's chest. He sits down on his hind legs and similarly wraps his arms around Leon's waist, slotting perfectly on the curve of the other's lower back as he pulls him in.

A whistle leaves Leon's stretched lips and Raihan replies with a growl, making the merman happily wave his tail side to side as he coos and speaks nonsense that Raihan doesn't understand. Nevertheless, the dragon growls back, savoring the other's happy giggles.

He knows something in merman, right? Sonia mentioned something like that back when they were in the den.

Carefully, Raihan moves forward and presses his headscales against Leon's forehead, making the merman suddenly still. Leon flushes deep as he shyly looks to the side, suddenly conscious of their close proximity. The dragon growls low before tilting the other's cheek back so he can look at him directly, big, golden eyes meeting his.

Raihan isn't capable of telling him properly yet so he can only hope his eyes show what he means by this.

The dragon doesn't know if Leon truly understood him but, judging from the slight widening of eyes and the soft coo that accompanied his little smile as he presses his forehead back, webbed hands cupping both sides of rough, dry cheeks- Raihan deduces that he might have gotten the gist.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!!
> 
> Also, if you look at Leon's tail in the shore scene, yes, it butterflies open! I've always drawn that part of his tail from the side view so I thought I should really show you all properly!!
> 
> If you're still a little confused by how it looks like, here's the real life ref for the fins!  
>   
>   
>  _Pterois_ | Lionfish  
> The dot patterns that are on Leon's fins are based off of the Red Lionfish (Pterois Volitans) specifically ^^
> 
> You can also see that his spines in the shore scene tend to go all over the place when out of water 'cuz they're loosely based on the Lion's Mane Jellyfish,  
>   
>  _Cyanea Capillata_  
>  It's 'loosely' based because I varied his spines so that some of them are similar to the jellyfish' while some of them are more fin-like and wider
> 
> The spines trail behind him when he swims,  
>   
> Kind of like this! Also, if you look closely, I also put spines in his hair too, mixed with his normal hairstrands but mostly concentrated around his earfins
> 
>   
> The spine transparency idea is because I was initially gonna base the spines off of the Portuguese Man O' War but scrapped it fast because its tentacles' shape doesn't vibe with me lol
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!!


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